Little Sama is born in Aleppo, in the middle of the Syrian civil war. Her mother followed everyday life with her camera for five years between bomb attacks, despair and hope.
Aleppo – It is the daily horror of the war in Syria that Waad al-Kateab captures with her camera. Blurred, raw scenes document the life of the people in Aleppo like a diary.
The young woman condenses more than 1,000 hours of video material, collected over a period of five years, into a contemporary witness report – and dedicates it to her daughter who was born in the war. The broadcaster Arte will show the documentary “For Sama”, which has received more than 50 awards and was nominated for an Oscar in 2020, on Tuesday, November 9th at 9:50 pm.
Waad al-Kateab – the name is a pseudonym with which the filmmaker would like to protect herself and her family – began her recordings in 2012. At that time, she was a student at the University of Aleppo. The Arab Spring had reached Syria and people took to the streets to protest against the regime of the ruler Assad. Waad al-Kateab joins the movement. She meets the young doctor Hamza. They demonstrate together. The two fall in love.
The regime’s attacks on its own people are becoming increasingly brutal. Waad al-Kateab continues to film, initially with his cell phone, later with a small camera. Air strikes, snipers, barrel bombs – the suffering of the people in Aleppo is increasing.
Hamza and his friends work in a hospital, where they are particularly confronted with the daily horror. The building is damaged and the power goes out again and again. Doctors and nurses treat seriously injured children on the floor. Bombs hit all around. Two boys are shocked to see their brother’s death. Waad al-Kateab films corpses and body parts. Friends of the couple are also killed.
When Russia came to the Assad regime’s aid in September 2015, the violence escalated. Waad and Hamza decide not to flee: They want to stay and continue to fight for freedom.
In the midst of horror, the couple marries, a moment of happiness and hope. The young woman becomes pregnant and her daughter is born on January 1, 2016. It is the year of the battle for Aleppo. Bombs and chlorine gas attacks make people’s lives hell. Waad feels guilty about her daughter. What life did she put up with the little one? Will Sama be able to forgive her?
At some point Waad and Hamza give up. They flee to Turkey with their daughter. They have the horror of war with them – in their memories and in the camera. Together with the director Edward Watts, Waad al-Kateab turns the material into a unique, courageous documentary that is well worth seeing. “Sama, I made this film for you,” she says. A film that shakes you up. dpa
