Screened as part of TOAFF17
A Damascus radio host and her close circle of friends capture the euphoria of Syria’s revolution – and their country’s descent into war.
Whether studying economics or architecture, whether mad about poetry or The Doors, Obaidah Zytoon’s friends all took to the streets in early 2011. Armed with cameras and a newly-defiant idealism, they relished their first taste of freedom as they openly shared their hopes for a better Syria.
Zytoon’s intimate footage, shot over several years as she travelled across the country, provides a raw and vital record of how these hopes were crushed, both by violent repression and the rise of extremism. Throughout this deeply personal journey, her poetic narration never ceases to question the impact of all those camera lenses – including her own – on the world’s most photographed and, arguably, most misrepresented conflict.
