Syrian film Let me Breathe depicting the Assad regime’s chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province was among the winners at the 39th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, held in New York City on Monday. The film won the best News Story award.
Another Syrian film Last Men in Aleppo won the Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary award. The film follows a group of the White Helmets volunteers in Aleppo during the intensive bombing campaign of by the Assad regime and Russia air forces on the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo.
The film Let Me Breathe captures the first moments following the chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikoun in Idlib province in April. It shows harrowing scenes of children and women gasping for breath, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Director of Last Men in Aleppo and co-producer of Let me Breathe Fadi Al-Halabi expressed his happiness with the awards as providing an opportunity to convey important messages; draw attention to the cause of the Syrian people and their struggle for freedom; and shed light on the crimes taking place against them.
“The real prize is to help the Syrian people get rid of the Assad regime,” Al-Halabi told Smart News Network. He reiterated his belief that the camera will sooner or later make a change.
Filmmaker Adham Al-Hussein said that winning the award was “a success for the free Syrian people and the Syrian revolution.” He added: “A right is certainly never lost, as long as someone strives to claim it. We demand the rights of the children, women and men who died in that horrible massacre.”
Last Men in Aleppo by Syrian filmmaker Firas Fayyad earlier won 20 international awards and was nominated for an Oscar award for the best documentary. Let me Breathe was directed by Riad A-Hussein and his assistant Yaman Khatib. The shooting of its scenes was done by Adham al-Hussein and Fadi al-Halabi.
The News and Documentary Emmy Awards are presented by the US National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for best television programs. Established in 1949, the award is equivalent to the Oscar Award for films, Grammy for music, and the Tony Award for excellence in theatre. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
