Doha Film Institute
  • Log in
Filmed over an eight-year period, ‘Batata’ documents the life of a charismatic Syrian migrant worker Maria. An intimate story of love, friendship and perseverance set to the back-drop of an age-old conflict between Syria and Lebanon.
Shot over an unparalleled ten years, the latest film by Lebanese-Syrian director Noura Kevorkian (’23 Kilometres’, 2015) follows the plight of Maria and her family of Syrian migrant workers who, after toiling for decades in Lebanon’s fertile Bekaa valley, find themselves unable to return to their hometown of Raqqa Syria. Unique among other refugee stories to date, Kevorkian’s intimate camera captures an entire decade of marriages, births, and deaths. All the while documenting not just the age-old conflict between Syria and Lebanon—but more importantly, the unbending spirit of a woman who puts family ahead of all else.

Credits

Director
Noura Kevorkian
Producer
Noura Kevorkian, Paul Scherzer
Production Company
Sareen Films

About the Director

Noura Kevorkian
Noura Kevorkian is a Lebanese-Syrian-Armenian filmmaker. She made her filmmaking debut with the multi-award-winning short 'Veils Uncovered' (Official Competition IDFA), followed by the feature documentary 'Anjar: Flowers, Goats and Heroes', and the drama-doc hybrid film '23 Kilometres' (Official Competition Karlovy Vary). Inspired by the stories she collected over the years while filming her lates
Contacts