Festival in Exile: Syria
Block II: EXPERIMENT AND DISAPPOINTMENT. TWO FILMS BY OMAR AMIRALAY
Six documentary films by Syrian filmmakers chart the development of the country’s film history – from the uprising in the 1970s, through political backlashes to the present day.
Omar Amiralay, the documentarist who died in 2011, is a formative figure in Syrian cinema. At the beginning of his career he open-mindedly tackled the socialist utopia of the Baath Party. Two films about a dam project indicate how his initial hope turned to frustration and disillusionment and he became the voice of criticism.
FILM-ESSAY ON THE EUPHRATES DAM
FILM MUHAWALAH ‘AN SADD AL FURAT, Omar Amiralay, Syrien 1970, 12 Min., without dialogue
A FLOOD IN BAATH COUNTRY
TUFAN FI BALAD EL BA’TH, Omar Amiralay, Frankreich/Syrien 2003, 46 Min., English subtitles
