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Airdate: For Sama

2020 Oscars nominee tells the story of a new mother living through the uprising in Aleppo, Syria.

2020 Academy Awards ‘Best Documentary’ nominee, For Sama, screens on doco streaming service iwonder today.

The film tells the story of life, love and family through the eyes of a new mother living through the darkest days of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria.

iwonder, Head of Content Alexandra Fox-Hughes says: “For Sama is as important as it is emotionally wrenching, serving to bring the world’s attention to a series of tragedies and atrocities in Syria that have plagued the country for years, while destroying countless lives in the process. Set against a backdrop of unimaginable darkness and despair, For Sama reminds us of the hope and joy that comes with new life and the strength we are able to draw from family, even in the most testing of times.”

For Sama is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria, as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.

Waad’s camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as she wrestles with an impossible choice – whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much. The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts.

Available to stream in Australia on the anniversary of being named Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, For Sama has since collected a host of other accolades, including the 2020 BAFTA for Best Documentary and a 2020 Academy Award nomination in the same category, cementing its reputation as one of the most powerful and important factual films of the past year.

Friday 22 May on iwonder.

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