Global Shorts Forum: Wartime Witness - Block A
Syria, My Love
Director: Hayk Matevosyan
Producers: Liana Avetisyan
Cast: Menua Chaparyan, Armen Sargsyan
A Syrian-Armenian artist who, after losing his family in the civil war, refuses to abandon his studio in Aleppo before he can finish his final painting.
Shok
Director: Jamie Donoughue
Producers: Harvey Ascott, Eshref Durmishi, Howard Dawson
Writer: Jamie Donoughue
Cast: Eshref Durmishi, Lum Veseli, Andi Bajgora, Astrit Kabashi, Xhevdet Jashari, Armond Morina
The friendship of two boys is tested to its limits as they battle for survival during the war in Kosovo. Based on true events.
My Aleppo
Director: Melissa Langer
Producers: Melissa Langer
Cast: Ibrahim Al Haj Abdullah, Lama Abdullah
Thousands of miles away in South Africa, but connected through the Internet, the Abdullah family watches daily as their family, nation and beloved hometown are destroyed.
The White Helmets
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel
Producers: Joanna Natasegara
A Netflix original short documentary, set in Aleppo, Syria and Turkey in early 2016. As the violence intensifies, The White Helmets follows three volunteer rescue workers as they put everything on the line to save civilians affected by the war, all the while wracked with worry about the safety of their own loved ones. Moving and inspiring, The White Helmets (directed by Academy Award®–nominated director Orlando von Einsiedel and producer Joanna Natasegara) is both a snapshot of the harrowing realities of life for ordinary Syrians who remain in the country, and a humbling portrait of the power of the human spirit.