The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) held a panel discussion under the title “Syrian TV Drama: Detachment from Reality and Distortion of the Revolution.” Keynote speaker was novelist Fouad Hamira, with other participants including activists from civil society and political currents.
Hamira gave an overview on the concept of TV drama and the pre-revolution Syrian drama, pointing out that the Assad regime did not allow the creation of a general legal framework for the drama industry with the aim of keep it hostage to its security apparatus, just as it does with all other aspects of public life in Syria.
Hamira said that the Assad regime is distorting the civilizational aspects of the history of Damascus and Syria through the production of TV dramas about the Damascene environment. He pointed out that these works deliberately obscure the cultural, educational and artistic aspects of Damascus; distort the role of Syrian women; and downplay the political and cultural movements that Syria witnessed before the Assad regime’s seizure of power.
Moreover, Hamira talked about the obstacles facing the production of real TV drama that documents the events of the revolution, indicating that writing scripts for TV drama needs strong awareness so as to accurately portray reality.
Participants stressed that Syria is rich with intellectual and cultural innovation, pointing to the need to highlight these aspects in order to serve the cause of the Syrian people. Nivin al-Hotary talked about the importance of producing TV drama that truly reflects our cause and conveys the true picture of the revolution. Swasan Felfela stressed the need for pro-revolution drama producers to produce works that express their positions. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
