Mohammed Ali Al-Atassi

During the Syrian civil war, the district of Yarmouk, home to thousands of Palestinians, became the scene of dramatic and ferocious fighting. The film follows the destiny of civilians during the brutal sieges, imposed by the Syrian regime, that took place in the wake of the battles. With his camera, Abdallah Al-Khatib composes a love song to a place that proudly resists the atrocities of war.

"Nasr Hamed Abou Zayd is not Godot, and the expectation promised by the title is misleading: this great gentleman is present in almost every shot. Who is he? An Egyptian Muslim theologian of international reputation, he has published exegeses of the Koran which led to his being condemned for apostasy. Exile, forced divorce from his wife Ibtihal Younes since his marriage was subject to annulment, separation from his son, such are the consequences of his writings. But Abou Zayd has not given up, residing in Leiden in the Netherlands, he continues, always on the road, to give conferences, to explain with great serenity his positions in public debates, on television, etc. C It is this particularly impressive dedication that Mohammad Ali Atassi's camera recorded over a period of six years.

The new film 'Ibn al-'Am Online' is a portrait of the opposition figure Riyad al-Turk from inside the Syrian Revolution. This important opposition figure remains active underground in Syria until this day. The film resorts to Skype and other social networks not merely as part of its narrative and construction, but also as part of the filming process itself. In the end, the Internet was the first means through which we decided to present the film. Filming took place over the course of several of months, and began at start of the Syrian revolution on 15 March 2011 and was completed at the beginning of 2012.

Our Terrible Country portrays the perilous journey of intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh and young photographer Ziad Homsi through Syria, at a time when the country edges towards the brink.

Saeed is a young cinephile trying to teach film rules to other young people in Eastern Ghouta, Syria, but the reality they face is too harsh to respect any rules. Saeed’s friend, Milad, is on the other side of the fence; in Damascus, a city under the control of the Assad regime, finishing his studies in Fine Arts. At one point, Milad decides to leave the capital and joins Saeed in a Douma under siege, where they set up a local radio station and a recording studio. They hold the camera to film everything, until one day it is the camera that films them.

'Ibn al-'Amm' shed light on the eighteen years Riyad al-Turk spent as a political prisoner under Hafez al-Assad, before his son Bashar al-Assad imprisoned him for two years at the beginning of his reign.