Al Yarmouk Ghetto
Spring Grants 2019 - Production Stage
Abdullah Al Khateeb / Feature Documentary / Syria, Qatar / 90 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Women, Social Issues, War, Youth, Immigration, Psychological, Based on a True Story, Identity, Creative Documentary
Synopsis
At the beginning of the Syrian revolution, Yarmouk camp near Damascus was subject to shelling and siege imposed by the Syrian regime until the complete destruction of the camp and the displacement of all its inhabitants in 2018. During this siege, the remaining residents suddenly found themselves without food, medicine, electricity or water. The film tells the story of a group of friends, who tried to face the siege, hunger and death through civil and volunteer work helping children and the elderly to bear the horrors of the situation. Filmmaker Abdullah Khatib accompanied by his mother (Oum Mahmoud), friend Firas, and English Literature professor (Abu Raafat) are four different personalities spanning four generations whose lives interconnect to illustrate the siege of Yarmouk camp. War has irrevocably altered the lives of these characters. Oum Mahmood from a housewife and mother of six children, to a relief worker and a nurse, Firas from a psychologist to a farmer and a cook, Abu Raafat from an English teacher to an unofficial spokesperson for the victims, and Abdullah from a UN employee to a photographer, filmmaker and entertainer for children. In the end, they all find themselves diverging onto different paths—changed forever by the conflict.
Credits
- Director
- Abdullah Al Khatib
- Screenwriter
- Abdullah Al Khatib
- Producer
- Mohammed Ali Atassi
About the Director
Abdullah Al Khateeb studied sociology at the University of Damascus. Prior to the revolution, he worked as coordinator of activities and volunteers and at UNRWA as the coordinator of the Youth Support Center in Yarmouk. He founded, with friends, a social association, active in the field of relief carrying out dozens of projects in several areas in Syria, most notably Yarmouk camp. He participated in directing and filming short films that depicted life in the camp. German magazine Peace Green selected him as a peacemaker in 2014, and he was also awarded the Per Anger Human Rights Award from Sweden in 2016.
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Mohammad Ali Atassi
- Company:
- Bidayyat for Audiovisual Arts
- Phone:
- +9611443026
- Email:
- director@bidayyat.org