Australia Hosted 1st Syrian Film Festival

Over the past two weeks, HOYTS Cinema in Australia’s Sydney city has hosted the first ‘Syrian Film Festival’ during which three films directed by Basil al-Khatib have been screened. 

The films screened during the festival were: “Mariam”, “Syrians” and “The Father”, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), which clarified that Syrian actors and actresses- Basil al-Khatib, Sabah al-Jazaeri, Dima Qandalaft, Mayson Abo As’ad, who took part in the films, were honored.

The agency reported today that the festival was organized by the ‘International Shaam Group’ and it was attended by Syrian and Arab communities in Australia.

Australian members of parliament called for screening the film entitled ‘The Father’ in the Parliament and allocating incoming revenues from screening the three films in Sydney and Melbourne for wounded Syrian soldiers.

The ‘Syrians’ film depicts the situation of Syrian person and his/her adherence to the homeland as well as their insistence on liberating the homeland from obscurants and their followers in the region.

There is also a conflict between the forces of good and evil in the film, which talks about the Syrian soldiers’ determination to defeat terrorism.

While ‘The Father’ film talks about a father who has done his utmost to bring his family out of a Syrian town besieged by the self–proclaimed “Islamic State” [also known as ISIS or ISIL or Daesh].

The third film entitled ‘Mariam’ chronicles 100 years of Syrian history through the stories of three women living in different eras.The name “Mariam,” as well as the wars and defeats that the country witnessed in the past century, are common links between the three women.

Basma Qaddour