Obituary

Syrian film director Raymond Boutros passed away aged 70 following a long suffering of a chronic disease, leaving behind a significant legacy that enriched the Syrian cinema with feature films that touched on various themes of top concern to Syrian and Arab people nation-wide.

Boutros’ birthplace, the city of Hama was almost present in the majority of his works, especially the Orontes River, the Church and the Grand Mosque. He also wrote a script of a TV series about Hama, but the work hasn’t been produced yet.

The city of Damascus has also its share among his works; in 2008, he directed a documentary titled “Damascene Features” in which he tried to cast light on some aspects of the time-old city and its deeply-rooted civilization that flourished over different ages.

Throughout his eventful career, he directed 24 films including four feature films: “The Conspiracy is Continuous”, ” The Moss”, “Departure” and” Hassiba”. His short documentaries tackled social aspects of life in different Syrian cities.

Born in 1950, Boutros obtained an MA in cinematic direction from the Ukrainian Kiev University. He was granted several local, Arab and international awards due to his objective films and great ability to employ diverse cinematic techniques in service of his thematic content.

Film critic Nedal Qoushha said that the death of the late Boutros constituted a grave loss to the Syrian and Arab cinema, referring to his unique experience in documenting the Syria plastic art movement.

K.Q.