Doha Film Institute
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March, 2011. As the Syrian Revolution begins, a political refugee returns illegally to Syria and risks everything to free his brother from the Assad regime.
Having gotten into trouble with the Syrian government, Sami has been living for years as a political refugee in Australia, working as an Arabic–English translator. And although he has adapted well to his new life, he is haunted by feelings of guilt for having abandoned his brother and sister. In 2011, the Syrian revolution starts unexpectedly, and Sami receives a video of his brother being arrested for peacefully demonstrating. The horrifying event brings up painful memories of when their father was similarly arrested by the regime thirty years earlier. Seizing this moment as a way to make up for the past, Sami makes the dangerous journey back to Syria in order to find his brother. Once there, Sami becomes increasingly aware of his responsibility towards his country and family, leading him just like his father and brother did—to risk everything for freedom.

Credits

Director
Rana Kazkaz, Anas Khalaf
Screenwriter
Rana Kazkaz, Magali Negroni
Producer
Anas Khalaf, Nicolas Leprêtre, Raphaël Alexandre
Production Company
Georges Films
Cast
Ziad Bakri

About the Director

Rana Kazkaz
Rana Kazkaz, a Syrian-American, currently lives with her family in Doha, having left Damascus as a result of the ongoing Syrian conflict. Kazkaz holds an MFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University/Moscow Art Theatre and attended the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute. She is the writer and director of four short films including ‘Mare Nostrum’ (2016). In addition to deve
Anas Khalaf
Anas Khalaf is a Franco-Syrian filmmaker currently residing in Doha after fleeing Syria with his family in 2012 following the onset of the war in his home country. He graduated from the Normandy Business School. Together with his wife, Rana Kazkaz, they founded the production company Synéastes Films in 2010. They have collaborated on four short films and one feature film.<br />
Contacts