Daham Alasaad

After twelve years in exile, Syrian journalist and filmmaker Daham Alasaad returns to Homs, devastated by the war in Syria. Once the city of his childhood, it is now a relic of an authoritarian regime, where different communities (Sunnis, Christians, Alawites) are trying to rebuild their lives together after terrible years of division and destruction. Thanks to Daham Alasaad's close relationship with the city's inhabitants, the director highlights some very moving characters, torn between grief, fear, the need for justice, and the desire for peace and reconciliation. By opening up naturally to the camera, they allow viewers to experience what Syrians of all backgrounds are going through today. "Homs-Syria, Life After" is a personal and political investigation into the ability of this symbolic city to rebuild hope on the ruins of a Syria ravaged by more than fifteen years of war and facing an uncertain future.

A cinematic journey through exile, justice, and the fragile act of return. Following a filmmaker who goes back to Syria after twelve years in exile, in the wake of the Assad regime’s fall, the film weaves together the stories of survivors of torture, imprisonment, and displacement as they fight to hold regime officials accountable—even those hiding in Europe. Between courtrooms abroad and ruins at home, Ashes becomes a living archive: voices refusing disappearance, memories demanding recognition, and testimony transformed into resistance. More than a story of war, it asks an urgent question for Syrians and for the world: can justice and dignity be rebuilt from the ruins, or will silence prevail once more?

‘The People Of No Man’s land’ is a 25 minute exclusive documentary, which takes the viewer on a journey inside Al-Rukban camp, an unofficial and unsupported refugee camp between the borders of Syria and Jordan. Since no journalist or media have access to Al-Rukban. In this film the many challenges that the people of Al-Rukban face become clear through the eyes of Umm Hussein, a 42 year old woman living in the camp. She and other inhabitants describe the terrible living conditions, picturing a dark place in which people are left alone with very little help from the outside world. But despite their suffering, the people in Al-Rukban continue to live their life in the middle of the desert. They have changed tents for stone buildings and try to rebuild their society from scratch.