A sense of foreboding haunts Under the Sky of Damascus, a sobering documentary directed by Syrian filmmakers Talal Derki, Heba Khaled and Ali Wajeeh.
The film opens with a vindicating interview: The Syrian actress Sabah Al-Salem takes a long drag of her cigarette before recounting how her refusal to sleep with a high-ranking military officer landed her in prison. She looks down at the dining room table as she answers the gentle prodding of her interviewers. “You must have heard of the problems I encountered,” she says in response to their inquiries.
The interviewers — Farah and Souhir — respond with nods. Yes, they have heard of the abuse Al-Salem faced. They know that she was abandoned by friends in the film industry and all but disappeared from public life. They also understand, on a personal level, how their deeply misogynistic country offers no recourse or salvation for women. When Al-Salem says...
The film opens with a vindicating interview: The Syrian actress Sabah Al-Salem takes a long drag of her cigarette before recounting how her refusal to sleep with a high-ranking military officer landed her in prison. She looks down at the dining room table as she answers the gentle prodding of her interviewers. “You must have heard of the problems I encountered,” she says in response to their inquiries.
The interviewers — Farah and Souhir — respond with nods. Yes, they have heard of the abuse Al-Salem faced. They know that she was abandoned by friends in the film industry and all but disappeared from public life. They also understand, on a personal level, how their deeply misogynistic country offers no recourse or salvation for women. When Al-Salem says...
- 2/24/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Millions of women in the Muslim world live under the dominion of men, subject to their rules, confined by their power. The documentary Under the Sky of Damascus, making its world premiere tonight at the Berlin Film Festival, examines the alarming gender politics in one ancient locality — the capital of Syria.
“Women are more enslaved than ever in these times,” actress Sabah Al Salem declares in the film directed by Heba Khaled, Oscar nominee Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh. “The biggest exploitations we face are of a sexual nature.”
The film documents an attempt by a female-led theater company to create a bold play about the power imbalance in Syrian society, based on interviews conducted with women from a variety of backgrounds. Many of those testimonies are seen in the documentary, offering stark insight into the reality faced by Syrian women.
“When my dad gets mad, he tends to be aggressive,...
“Women are more enslaved than ever in these times,” actress Sabah Al Salem declares in the film directed by Heba Khaled, Oscar nominee Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh. “The biggest exploitations we face are of a sexual nature.”
The film documents an attempt by a female-led theater company to create a bold play about the power imbalance in Syrian society, based on interviews conducted with women from a variety of backgrounds. Many of those testimonies are seen in the documentary, offering stark insight into the reality faced by Syrian women.
“When my dad gets mad, he tends to be aggressive,...
- 2/20/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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