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This Sundance-winning documentary feature LAST MEN IN ALEPPO will have
its national television debut on PBS television series POV on July 10
(one of 5 films kicking off POV's 30th season that focus on the Syrian
war and the refugee crisis.) Please see the announcement below. – Adam
Segal, The 2050 Group - Publicity
WINNER – Grand Jury Documentary Prize at 2017 Sundance Film Festival
‘Last Men in Aleppo,’ Airing July 10, 2017 on POV, Documents Syrian
Volunteers’ Heroic Work
Incredible access, bravery and signs of life in a city under siege
TRAILER: http://www.pbs.org/pov/lastmeninaleppo/
The year is 2015. Syria’s brutal civil war has been ravaging the country
since the government responded with force to civil protests during the
Arab Spring in 2011. Regime, Kurdish, ISIS and rebel forces all occupy
various parts of the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. A volunteer
group called the White Helmets provides emergency services to
traumatized residents in the rebel-occupied areas of the city. A crucial
part of their efforts is rescuing survivors: After air attacks reduce
buildings to rubble, the men of the White Helmets dig through the debris
and pull survivors to safety. They are nothing short of heroes.
The White Helmets are the subject of Last Men in Aleppo, the searing
documentary directed by Feras Fayyad that won the World Documentary
Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film has its
national broadcast premiere on July 10 at 10 p.m. (check local listings)
on the PBS documentary series POV (Point of View). POV is American
television’s longest-running independent documentary series, now in its
30th season. Last Men in Aleppo is the final film in this season’s
special series highlighting the Syrian conflict and refugee crisis.
Captured with incredible intimacy and urgency, Last Men in Aleppo shows
the White Helmets at work in the wake of bombing raids. The film
provides exceptional access. Volunteers wear microphones for the
filming, and viewers can hear them as they share information, give
directions and pray. When they learn of a raid, they speed through
chaotic streets full of rubble. They dig through piles of concrete and
metal, sometimes using construction equipment, other times their bare hands.
The viewing is often visceral and difficult. Fayyad’s cameras are
unflinching as they document the extraction of dead bodies, including
those of children. Survivors are badly injured and covered in blood.
There is grim talk of body parts, of how many survived and how many
died. “I’m 100 percent sure we will find his head on the roof,” a White
Helmet says of a victim at the site of a bombing.
In these painful moments, the men of the White Helmets reveal their
resilience and bravery in the face of daily carnage. In addition to
showing the men at work, Last Men in Aleppo follows a few of them as
they go about their daily lives. One, Khaled, is the father of young
children. In a heartbreaking scene, he takes his little girl to a
pharmacist, who examines her hands and declares she is not getting
adequate nutrition.
The documentary also follows Mahmoud, a young man who performs his work
as a White Helmet with grave precision. With other White Helmets,
Mahmoud and his brother Ahmed race to the scene of a missile attack on a
car, now in flames. They begin trying to put out the fire so they can
extract the bodies, but another air strike hits, and the men scatter.
In yet another searing moment, Mahmoud is troubled when he visits with
young children he has rescued. “Was my head stuck in the rubble when you
got me out?” a young boy asks Mahmoud. “I can’t do a visit like this
again,” Mahmoud says later. “It’s so difficult.”
As the volunteers monitor the news and perform their arduous work, they
contemplate the future. There is talk of escaping to Turkey, to Germany.
Midway through the film, a friend asks Mahmoud about his dreams. “I
dream that my brother will be safe,” Mahmoud says. “What are your
dreams?” The friend replies, “To live a stable and secure life.”
“This film is a story about hope, and it is an attempt to study our
humanity and shared responsibility when faced with mindless, irrational
killing,” said Fayyad. “I saw this with the White Helmets, whose heroism
did not discriminate between civilians and aggressors. Covering their
efforts also allows us to show the world the devastating toll of the
Syrian civil war. The White Helmets’ rescue efforts cannot be a
permanent solution to this crisis. It is our hope that this film
motivates people to stop this tragedy altogether, begin peace talks in
Syria and help those civilians out of these disaster zones.”
“War brings out the worst in human beings, but it also brings out the
best in us. The White Helmets are a living example of that. I hope this
film will compel audiences abroad to follow that example.”
“Last Men in Aleppo soberly concludes this season’s special series on
the Syrian war,” said POV executive director Justine Nagan. “At times
agonizing to witness, the film leaves viewers awestruck at the bravery
of volunteers like Mahmoud and Khaled and the resilience of civilians
caught in the violence. With this film and the others in the series, we
hope to have provided the American public a holistic view of the Syrian
war and refugee crisis. In times of competing and sometimes conflicting
narratives, this special series aimed to showcase the intimate
viewpoints of filmmakers at every vantage point of these events.”
About the Filmmakers:
Feras Fayyad, Director
Feras Fayyad is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked as a film
editor and cinematographer on several documentary and narrative films.
He has participated in international film festivals and received
recognition for his work with contemporary Syrian issues and political
transformation in the Arab world.
Steen Johannessen, Co-Director, Editor
Steen Johannessen is an experienced editor of a number of
internationally acclaimed documentaries, including Motley’s Law, Miners
Shot Down and Warriors from the North. Last Men in Aleppo marks his
debut as a co-director.
Søren Steen Jespersen, Producer
Søren Steen Jespersen has produced several award-winning documentaries
and directed Warriors from the North, winner of Best Mid-length
Documentary at Hot Docs 2015.
Kareem Abeed, Producer
Kareem Abeed is a Syrian producer and one of the founders of the Aleppo
Media Center. Abeed has worked as a producer for video features on Syria
with several international outlets, including CNN, BBC and Channel 4.
Credits:
Director: Feras Fayyad
Co-Director, Editor: Steen Johannessen
Producers: Søren Steen Jespersen, Kareem Abeed
Cinematographers: Thaer Mohammed, Mojahed Abo Al Joud
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