For Sama

For Sama

★ 8.2IMDb Score
Released:2019-07-26
Duration:100 min
Director:Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Actors:Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Waad al-Kateab
Production:ITN Productions, Channel 4 Television

Overview:

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

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