Norsk filminstitutt

Before Aleppo's fall, the Syrian-Norwegian director Nizam Najar travels back to his home town. Armed with his camera, he follows a group of civilians who fight under the flag of the Free Syrian Army when they defend themselves against their own government. The tailor Haj Khaled starts to make flags for the peaceful demonstrations against the dictatorship but ends up as the leader of the militia of young men fighting for their freedom. In the fight against Assad and Putin on one side and ISIS on the other, Haj Khaled tries to keep the group together and the moral alive. We follow them through the days of hope, via desperation, death, and division – until Aleppo falls and the survivors must flee to Idlib.  

Production and distribution

Production Year:
2017
Production country:
Norway
Co production country:
Denmark
France
Release date (international):
2017-11-20
Production company:
Fenris Film AS
Co production company:
Stray Dog Productions Copenhagen
YUZU productions
Producer:
Henrik Underbjerg
Tore Buvarp
Sales agent:
DR Sales

Director

  • Nizam Najar

    Having grown up in Syria, Libya and Sudan, Nizam Najjar (b. 1980) moved to Norway in 2002 and is now an Oslo-based filmmaker. He attained a degree in directing from Lillehammer University College and specialized in documentary filmmaking at Volda University College. His first film was Diary from the Revolution (2012).

    Nizam Najar

Awards

2018:
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
Honorable Mention
2018:
DMZ DOCS International Documentary Film Festival
Special Mention

Festivals

2017:
IDFA - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
2018:
TIFF - Tromsø International Film Festival
2018:
Human International Documentary Film Festival
2018:
The voices of investigative journalism
2018:
The Norwegian Documentary Film Festival
2018:
Nordic/Docs
2018:
FIDADOC - Agadir International Documentary Festival
2018:
DMZ DOCS International Documentary Film Festival
2018:
HumanDOC International Film Festival
2019:
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Crew

Director:
Nizam Najar

Technical information

Format:
DCP 2k
Colour:
Colour
Length in min's:
82'
Subtitles:
English

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