Project Detail

For Sama

Synopsis

A feature documentary telling the astonishing story of 26-year old female Syrian filmmaker, Waad al-Kateab, who filmed her life in rebel-held Aleppo through five years of the Syrian uprising.
She fell in love, got married and had a daughter all while filming the violence raging around her and in particular documenting the challenges the conflict imposed on women and children. Along with a close group of friends, she stayed in the city to fight for her dream of a free Syria, a struggle that ended in their defeat and exile.
The film weaves together her intimate, emotive footage with her struggle to come to terms with the trauma she has witnessed. It’s an outstanding story, by turns beautiful, shocking, surprising and uplifting.
Waad is a symbol for our times, the epitome of a bold, brave woman prepared to risk her life for what she believes, in a year when women are finally becoming the heroes of their own stories. Hers is an epic tale of the survival of love and courage amid the cruelty of war.
Official Selection SXSW 2019 - Documentary Feature Competition - World premiere
Official Selection Hot Docs 2019 - International Spectrum
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2019 - Special Screening
Academy Awards 2020 - Nomination - Best Documentary Feature

Details

Year
2019
Type of film
Features
Running time
95 min
Format
Digital Video
Director
Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts 1st Feature
Producer
Waad al-Kateab
Executive Producer
Nevine Mabro, George Waldrum, Siobhan Sinnerton, Ben de Pear, Raney Aronson-Rath
Editor
Chloe Lambourne, Simon McMahon
Director of Photography
Waad al-Kateab
Composer
Nainita Desai
Senior Producer
Dan Edge

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Sales Company

Autlook Filmsales

Spittelberggasse 3/14
1070 Vienna
Austria

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Spacewoman Spacewoman

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.<br /> Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all.<br /> At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? <br /> This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. <br /> Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere<br /> Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

64 Days | the crowd and its leaders 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook

Director: Nick Quested

Year: 2025

Documenting the January 6 assault on the US Capitol - Filmmaker Nick Quested was embedded with the Proud Boys, and other far-right groups during the months leading up to the insurrection, capturing exclusive footage of figures including Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes that was used as evidence in hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, and as part of their larger investigation.

A French woman kisses her son before he is evacuated on a bus out of war-torn Paris during World War 2. Ghosts

Director: Katia Lom

Year: 2024

A woman at the end of her life wanders lost in the woods where her memories find her. Seamlessly blending historical archive footage with dramatizations, the narrative explores how nature connects us to our past.