Feature Documentary Film
TOTAL BUDGET
US $150,000
CONFIRMED FINANCING
US $25,000
CONTACT
lina.sinjab@gmail.com
+96176777289
Khaled is among the last friends I have still living in Syria. He refused to leave, and stayed put. He became exiled in his country. Now he lives in the shadow of a city that was once home, as I lost the meaning of home.
Damascus has become smaller, tighter and heavier. The lightness we lived in and enjoyed before the war, and during the optimistic times of the early days of the uprising, has faded away. People left, friends died, others disappeared in prisons, and the city has new occupants now. The price of the war lies heavy over Damascus. You can feel it in every corner. Khaled and a few other friends are still holding on to what’s remaining of home.
But I see him, day in and day out, trying to find the home that was. It is a mirage, I like to call it. The war is a mirage, being an exile is a mirage; the death toll, the destruction, the fact that all our hopes and dreams faded away, are also a mirage. I don’t want to believe it. Since I left Syria in 2013, I have been devastated, and all I have wanted is to go back. Damascus is no longer the city I grew up in. Khaled still believes it is. He is in denial, I think. Since day one, he is in denial. In 2011, he told us with his optimistic spirit, cynical attitude and big laughter on his round chubby face, that the uprising would start in Aleppo, and in two weeks things would change for the better. We all loved his enthusiasm but he was wrong. Those Who Remained is a journey back home through the life that Khaled still holds on to, the life I have lost.
I was there when the first protest began and couldn't believe it was happening. I watched people breaking their fear as I broke mine. I paid the price and was detained, and then was forced to leave. I was filled with guilt of leaving people behind in danger, while I enjoyed safety outside Syria. I watched the world watching Syria as I was falling in depression. We became numbers. Death in my country didn’t matter anymore. I myself became numb.
But deep inside, there was an excruciating pain that I could not live with anymore. I wanted to tell the story of my home. I wanted to capture what I’ve missed through the eyes of those who remained. Is it still the same?
Cities are mainly defined by their people; their habits, interactions, and bonds with their surroundings. The war has forced millions to abandon their cities. Damascus is unrecognizable, to me at least. Faces have changed, and most of its residents have left. Those Who Remained tries to tell the story of those who managed to stay put.
Since I left, every time I manage to visit Damascus, the link to my city fades away. I became a stranger in my own country. Except for Khaled. Maybe he is the one who keeps holding the image of the life we had; he still has the dream of the life we wanted in Syria. Holding on to him and filming him, perhaps helps me keep my soul alive, the soul I lost when I lost hope.
2019: Madness in Aleppo
2013: Suryyat