DUBAI: A low budget film depicting a young mother’s harrowing experience in the Syrian war won the best documentary award at the British Academy Film Awards last night.
The film focuses on Waad Al-Khateab, a filmmaker living in Aleppo as she goes about her life from the start of the uprising through to the siege of the city by Bashar Al-Assad’s forces.
Read Arab News’ interview with Waad Al-Khateab here.
The documentary, directed by Al-Khateab and Edward Watts, follows the young woman through marriage, childbirth and then the agonizing decision over whether to flee Aleppo for her family’s safety.
“In 2016, three years ago, we were in Aleppo. We were in a basement of a filled hospital - Hamza, me, Sama and Afraa,” she said after receiving the award. “We even thought ‘should we bury our footage in case we didn’t make it, this needs to be saved (sic).’”
“This award, I will dedicate it to the great Syrian people who (are) still suffering until today and (the) great heroes - doctors, nurses, civil defense.”
