''For Sama'' () is a 2019

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

produced and narrated by Waad Al-Kateab, and directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts. The film focuses on Waad Al-Kateab's journey as a journalist and rebel in the Syrian uprising. Her husband is Hamza al-Kateab, one of the few doctors left in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, and they raise their daughter Sama Al-Kateab during the Syrian Civil War. The film had its world premiere at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival on March 11, 2019, where it won the Documentary Feature Competition's Grand Jury and Audience Awards. ''For Sama'' made history when it was nominated in four categories in the BAFTA awards, making it the most nominated documentary ever. It was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

at the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...

Premise

The film shows Waad al-Kateab's life through five years in

, Syria before and during The Battle of Aleppo. An economics student at the

University of Aleppo University of Aleppo (, also called Aleppo University) is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus. During 2005–06, the university had over 61,000 undergraduate ...

when the uprising began in 2011, we watch as she falls in love, gives birth to her first daughter Sama and navigates motherhood all while the conflict begins to engulf the city. She and her husband, a doctor at one of the few remaining hospitals in the city, face an agonising decision to flee to safety or stay behind to help the innocent victims of war.

Cast

* Hamza al-Kateab * Sama al-Kateab * Waad al-Kateab

Reception

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "As intimate as it is heartbreakingly resonant, ''For Sama'' powerfully distills the difficult choices faced by citizens of war-torn regions."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned the film a score of 89 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Ian Freer Ian Freer is a British non-fiction author, film magazine editor and newspaper writer who has written several books relating to films. He is currently employed with the film magazine ''Empire'' and is one of their senior reviewers as well as the ...

of ''Empire'', wrote "It will break your heart", and he further added, "''For Sama'' powerfully mixes the personal and the political to thought-provoking, emotional ends. The result is one of the best documentaries of 2019". David Jenkins of the ''Little White Lies'' wrote, "This tough but vital documentary depicts the savage bombardment of Aleppo from a female perspective". Jordan Mintzer of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, " 'For Sama''The result is a series of deeply powerful images showing the human casualties of a war that most of us witnessed from our TV sets or computer screens, but that al-Kateab and her husband lived on a daily basis for many years". Guy Lodge of the ''Variety'' wrote, "This ragged, remarkable act of cinematic witnessing sees a young woman finding her voice – as an activist, as an artist and as a parent – above the crashing, whistling din of warfare. Amid a surfeit of devastating reports from the ruins, it's one we haven't yet heard".

Awards and nominations

''For Sama'' made history by becoming the BAFTA's most-nominated feature documentary. The

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

announced the film has been nominated in four categories, Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer; Outstanding British film; Best film not in the English language and Best documentary. ''For Sama'' won multiple awards at the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

in December 2019 including: best British independent film, best documentary, best director and best editing. ''For Sama'' was granted " L'oeil d'or", the best documentary movie award in

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in 2019. The documentary was nominated for an Oscar at the

in the Documentary Feature category.

Social impact

As ''For Sama'' got a lot of international attention, Waad Al-Kateab launched an advocacy campaign in the name of ''Action for Sama'' to advocate for the civilians of Syria. Her campaign attracted the attention of some of the most internationally known actors and actresses. People's emotional reaction to the film is what she hopes will prompt them to action, but for the decision makers and those who have power, she expects more than just emotions after seeing her film. "Many people came to me crying and said they are so sorry that they let that happen. ..It shows you how many people care. But on the level of decision makers ..We have tried so hard to push for action, do something, to make sure these things don't continue to happen. ..If you are in a position where you can change something, I don't want your tears, I want you to do something, you can make a difference," says Waad Al Kateab quietly but firmly.

References

External links

Official site

''Frontline: For Sama''
* *
Channel 4: For Sama
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