Born in Syria
Since civil war started in Syria in 2011, an estimated 9 million Syrians have fled their homes, half of them children. With a soundtrack composed by Gabriel Yared, this feature length film (also available in 55 mins) follows seven young children for a year. We witness everything through their eyes, from their escape from Syria, through refugee camps in the Middle East, to their arrival into the promised land of Europe. And then we continue following them for their first six months in Europe, recording their integration.
“I left everything in Aleppo, my clothes, my toys, my bed”, states Yara. “Now we sleep on stones. It’s been a month since I washed”. Marwan remembers crying all the way through the terrifying boat journey to Greece. ’My father said “close your eyes, everything will be fine’’. Others, like Jaseem and Jihane, had to leave their parents behind.
These children have fled unimaginable horror: the indiscriminate bombings of Bachar Al Assad’s government, the brutal killing of rebels of the Al Nuzra front, and the Islamic State’s raping and beheading, only to find themselves trapped in makeshift camps or closed borders.
Filmed in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, this is a unique testimony to the refugee experience.
PRODUCTION INFO
- Year: 2016
- Duration: 90 and 57 mins
- Production: LA CLAQUETA, CONTRAMEDIA FILMS & FINAL CUT FOR REAL
- Director: HERNÁN ZIN
- Available Versions:
ENG, FRA, ESP
- Country of production: Spain/Denmark
VOD LINKS
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
- Awards
Premio Forqué (Spain) for Best Documentary Feature; Humanitarian Award (Tiburon International Film Festival, USA); Republic Of Turkey, Ministry Of Culture & Tourism Special Prize in the International Category (TRT Doc. Awards 2017 /Turkey); Best Documentary at Premios Platino ( Spain); IRIS Prize for Best Documentary awarded by the Jury of the Television Academy (Spain); Grand Prix du Festival des Libertés, Prix RTBF, & Prix FIDH (Festival des Libertés, Belgium); Special Mention in Category Documentaries for 16-20 yrs old young people (Castellinaria, Festival Internazionale del Cinema Giovanne Bellinzona, Switzerland); Broadcast prize from Rai 3 at PRIMED 2017
Festivals
Sevilla European Film Festival (Spain); Cork Film Festival (Ireland); Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata (Argentina); Festival du Cinéma méditerranéen de Bruxelles (Belgium); Ajyal Youth Film Festival (Qatar); Human Rights Human Wrongs (Norway); Ethnocineca, International Documentary Film Festival Vienna 2016 & 2017 (Austria); Let’s CEE Film Festival (Austria); Tiburon International Film Festival (California); FICDH 2017 (Buenos Aires , Argentina); Festival de Cine y Tv Reino de Leon (Spain); Cinemagic International Film Festival for Young People (Ireland); TRT Documentary Days (Turkey); DocEdge Documentary Festival (New Zealand); Amsterdam Spanish Film Festival (Netherlands); Giffoni Film Festival (Italy); FESTIMO EL Septimo Ojo (Sucre, BOLIVIA); Festival de Cine de Los Derechos Humanos de Valparaiso (Chile); FICDH Paraguay; PRIMED (Marseille, FRANCE); Festival des Libertés (Belgium); UNHCR Refugee Film festival (Japan) ; Human Rights Film Festival of Pakistan; Festival International des Droits Humains de Paris (France); Global Health Film Festival (UK); Minsk Listapad International Documentary Film festival (Belarus) ; Castellinaria, Festival Internazionale del Cinema Giovanne Bellinzona (Switzerland); Smile International Film festival for Children and Youth (India); Tenemos Que Ver (Uruguay); Festival Intl de Cine de Derechos Humanos (Bolivia); Cremona Film Festival (Italy); Törva Dokfest (Estonia); Festival Internacional de Cine por la Transparencia 2017 (Costa Rica)
