The Female Experience of War with Waad Al-Kateab

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Waad Al-Kateab's story is unlike any other. A celebrated journalist, filmmaker and activist in Syria, in 2011 she would watch as her hometown of Aleppo erupt into war. Over the next five years, as the fighting raged on, she fell in love, married and had a child. It was this personal story that she captured in her deeply moving BAFTA-winning documentary, For Sama. The film takes us on both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. For Sama would become the most nominated documentary in the history of the British Academy Film Awards.

Our takeaways:

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 We were bowled over by Waad's story even before we met her and remain dumbfounded by what she has seen, reported and lived through. Thanks to her bravery and determination to film over 500 hours of footage, we were able to see some of the things she experienced as a journalist and mother through her lens in For Sama. 

 

The film may be be squeezed into 1 hour and 40 minutes but the fight for ‘justice, dignity, freedom and equality’ is far from over in Syria. And, among many, one thing we’ve learned from Waad is we can help. 

 

How can we help?

 

1. Spread the word: Watch For Sama if you haven’t already and get others to watch it too. Find the film at https://www.channel4.com/programmes/for-sama

2. Follow @actionforsama and witness some of the incredible actions already being taken by the team there. 

3. Visit https://www.actionforsama.com and get in touch with the team there to learn what actions can be taken - big and small. 

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