Alisar Hasan
|
Feras Fayyad
|
|
|
Alisar Hasan | Feras Fayyad |
Alisar Hasan | Feras Fayyad |
In contrast to the many Syrian documentaries made from cellphone footage or shaky cameras, Fayyad takes great care to visualise the landscape and its memorable occupants with artful cinematography. For anyone who feels jaded by Syria coverage, this work stands apart. The heart of the film is Dr. Amani, a young Syrian woman operating in unimaginable conditions with great humour and fortitude. When not tending to patients — many of whom are small children — she's forced to justify her work to chauvinistic men who insist that a woman should be at home fulfilling domestic duties, not running a hospital. The claustrophobia of Amani's workplace is mitigated by the high spirits of her crew, while occasional forays above ground temper relief from close quarters with harrowing scenes of a city reduced to rubble.