A Syrian film telling the story of Syrian youngster who drowned while trying to escape the brutality of the Assad regime won an award at the Berlin Flash Film Festival and another one at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.
In the film, the Final Letter by Syrian filmmaker Orwa Al-Ahmed, a Syrian young man tosses a message in a bottle moments before he drowns while trying to reach Europe by sea.
Al-Ahmed also participated in Cannes Short Film Festival. His film was nominated for awards at ten international festivals.
Al-Ahmed said he wanted to convey to the world the real image of the young Syrians and the primary motive for their migration to the West as many people do not know the real reasons for their migration.
Al-Ahmed described the revolution as an idea, adding that the revolution existed even before the start of the popular uprising. “The revolution will continue until after the change of the shape of power in Syria.” He stressed on the state of citizenship that respects all citizens regardless of their religious and sectarian backgrounds and denominations.
Al-Ahmad stressed that he does not regret his participation in the Syrian revolution. “The course and outcome of the popular uprising is not linked to my opposition to the regime. I am opposed to this regime for many reasons, including for humanitarian reasons.”
The Syrian Coalition earlier stressed the importance of documenting the crimes of the Assad regime and highlighting them on all occasions and at the various international fora. It pointed out that these films could influence the Western public opinion and expose the policies of countries that deceive their people by ignoring the atrocities the Assad regime is committing against Syrian civilians.
Earlier this week, a film that follows two friends through four nightmarish years of the Syrian revolution lifted some of the top prizes at the Venice film festival.
Still Recording, a war documentary by Ghiath Ayoub and Saeed Al Batal, records what happened to two idealistic art students after they were swept up in the fervor of the Syrian revolution. It picked up two awards at Venice Critics’ Week.
Cries from Syria, another war documentary, was nominated for four News and Documentary Emmy awards in 2017. The film looked at the Syrian revolution and Assad’s crimes against civilians, especially children and women. It provided harrowing scenes of women and children being subjected to the worst methods of torture.
Born in the city of Homs in 1988, Al-Ahmed graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Beirut in 2009 and won dozens of awards. His film Salty Memory won the Golden Award for best indie filmmaker at The Virgin Spring Cinefest, an international film festival based in Kolkata, India. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
