First Show of “The Mother” at Cinema City in Damascus

The first show of “The Mother”, a movie by famous Syrian Director Basel Al-Khatieb, was opened yesterday at the Cinema City in Damascus by the General Establishment of Cinema.

 Director General of the Cinema Establishment Ahmad al-Ahmad said in a press release “we are opening the official show of ‘The Mother’ movie to highlight the position of the producing party and the quality of the produced films.”

 Celebrating this occasion aims at appreciating and blessing the efforts of all who work in this creative field under the current critical circumstances in the country, he added.

“The Mother” is the second film by al-Khatieb to be produced by the Cinema Establishment after the success of his famous work “Mariam” which has harvested several awards despite the extraordinary circumstances that have been facing the participation of Syrian films abroad and despite the boycott imposed on Syrian cinema production, al-Ahmad clarified, pointing out that “Mariam” has so far won seven important awards, the latest of which were two ones at the Silk Road Festival in China.

 He said “The Mother” depicts beauty, wonderful natural and the Syrians’ troubles under the crisis in the country.

Events of the film revolve around a mother and her children and the changes taking place in their daily lives since the beginning of the crisis.

 For his part, Director Basel al-Khatieb said the film calls for abandoning negativity and carelessness shown by human beings nowadays. It urges people to care about and love each other whatever the circumstances are.

“At war times, such humanitarian stances are badly needed to embody the meaning of our life and enhance the humanitarian aspect in ourselves, otherwise we will be the losers,” al-Khatieb said.

 “The Mother” is al-Khatieb’s third movie after his films “The Last Message” in 2000 and “Mariam” in 2012. The movie was shot entirely in Syria at various locations in Damascus, Tartous, Safita and several rural Syrian areas.

Starring in the film are Sabah al-Jazaeri, Sulaf Fawakherji, Dima Qandalift, Noura Rahhal, Ali Sattouf, Amer al-Talli, Lina Hawarneh, Suzan Skaf, Rana Karam and others.

 Rawaa Ghanam