Balitang New York : 'FOR SAMA' Directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts; Powerful Look at A Young Mother’s Experience Through Five Years of the Uprising in Aleppo, Syria, Opens July 26 in NYC

Monday, July 22, 2019

'FOR SAMA' Directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts; Powerful Look at A Young Mother’s Experience Through Five Years of the Uprising in Aleppo, Syria, Opens July 26 in NYC

The award winning documentary FOR SAMA, directed by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts, begins its theatrical release this Friday, July 26th in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco with a nationwide rollout to follow.

FOR SAMA tells the story of one woman’s journey through love, motherhood, war and survival during five years of the Syrian conflict. Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaking duo Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts (Escaping ISIS), the film chronicles the experiences of 26-year-old Syrian filmmaker Waad al-Kateab, who filmed her life in the rebel-held city of Aleppo over five years from age 21 - 26.

FOR SAMA is the first film to document the Syrian conflict from a woman's perspective.

FOR SAMA was a hit at this year's 2019 Cannes Film Festival where it took home the Best Documentary Award. Audiences around the world have been moved by this incredible and personal story captured on film by the subject herself. The film had its World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Since then, it continues to gather more awards every time it screens. The growing list of awards includes the aforementioned SXSW; Cannes Film Festival; and Sheffield Doc/Fest; Telluride MountainFilm; Hot Docs; Nantucket Film Festival; River Run; LA Asian Pacific Film Festival; Newport Beach Film Festival; and many more.

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.

Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts.