BoRn in dAMASCUS

The sea as blue as the sky. A stroll through the picturesque old town of Damascus. In a video call between director Laura Wadha, an exiled Syrian, and her cousin, who has also emigrated, both try to reconstruct an image of the lost homeland from the time before the war. The video recordings Laura made many years ago show a joyful pre-war Syria. Her favourite cousin is laughing into the mobile phone camera. Separated on different continents, the two see each other again in a video call for the first time for more than 10 years.

“You get to know Syria as a country rich in culture and Syrian refugees depicted with their individual identity and history,” says the doxs! Youth Jury, commending the film at the festival edition 2022. BORN IN DAMASCUS convinces the audience with its authentic portrayal of two protagonists and their story. The private archive material allows the viewer to get a very personal insight and enables them to identify with Laura and her counterpart.

The film deals with a topic that has unfortunately been relevant for dec- ades and will remain so. The loss of home and to a certain degree the loss of childhood is so tragic and emotional that it is almost made tangible in the cinema. In the doxs! screening, a young student, born in Damascus herself, recognised her life story right there on the screen. The pride of the young Syrian in the audience in her beautiful homeland also made Laura

Wadha happy.

BORN IN DAMASCUS proves the power of remembering and shows the victory of memory over actual war and destruction.

BORN IN DAMASCUS

Director: Laura Wadha

UK 2021 | 15’

Producer: Charlotte Hailstone

Produced by: Hailstone Films

Sales: Scottish Documentary Institute

Contact: alexandra@scotdoc.com

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by Luca Stradmann

& Samina Gul

The Doxspot column is published with the help of the doxs! festival for children & youth documentaries in Duisburg. www.do-xs.de.