Sundance Film Festival shines light on Aleppo
The documentary "Last Men in Aleppo," which captured the suffering of the city's residents in the Syrian civil war, was honored with a top award at the Sundance Film Festival.
ALEPPO, Syria — A group of journalists and cameramen in Aleppo worked for almost two years under difficult and dangerous circumstances to produce a documentary film capturing the suffering of the city's residents in the ongoing civil war. Their efforts recently paid off: “Last Men in Aleppo” won the 2017 World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for international documentary film at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Feras Fayyad collected the prize along with co-director Steen Johannessen at the Jan. 28 ceremony in Park City, Utah. The film was made possible through the collaboration of Larm Film, a Danish company, which funded the production, and the Aleppo Media Center, which reports on Syrian news and produces video projects.
Work began in mid-2015 on the 90-minute documentary, which depicts daily life in Aleppo’s neighborhoods when they were under the control of the armed opposition, which was forced to withdraw in late December following heavy shelling and aerial attacks by government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. The film highlights the day-to-day experiences of Syrian civil defense volunteers, also known as the White Helmets, as they go about trying to save civilians being shelled. It also documents the regime siege on Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods.
