- The story of a past massacre that tragically finds its continuation today.
- SYNOPSIS The documentary Souls In Transit tells the story of a largely unknown genocide. In 1915, about 3 million Christians were killed by the Ottoman Empire. The film tells the story of this massacre with the help of contemporary witnesses and relates it to the present. The genocide of 1915 finds its tragic continuation in current conflicts.—Aida Schlaepfer Al Hassani
- Souls In Transit, The story of a past massacre that tragically finds its continuation today.
The documentary Souls In Transit tells the story of a largely unknown genocide. In 1915, about 3 million Christians were killed by the Ottoman Empire. The film tells the story of this massacre with the help of contemporary witnesses and relates it to the present. The genocide of 1915 finds its tragic continuation in current conflicts.
The living conditions of Christians in Iraq have been extremely difficult since the founding of the state in 1921. The U.S. invasion in 2003 massively increased the pressure on Christians and made living conditions increasingly unbearable. After the fall of the Saddam regime by the U.S. and the accompanying de-Baathification, the founding and rise of IS (Islamic State) was favored and made possible in the first place. Due to the lack of a functioning state, there was an increase in targeted kidnappings, ransom demands, and bombings of crowded churches. This led to a new and massive movement of refugees. In Baghdad, for example, there were more than 1 million Christians in 2003; today there are fewer than 40,000. The consequences of the 1915 genocide can still be felt and experienced today. Families were and still are torn apart by war, violence, flight and destruction.
After the great success of the 24-minute short film NouN, which Aida Schläpfer Al Hassani shot with her team under the greatest danger, just in the time of the IS advance in Iraq, it was clear to her that she had to tell this story in more depth. The suffering and the targeted persecution of Christians triggered a déjà vu in her. She too was forced to flee with her family. The fate of these people became inseparable from hers in one fell swoop! Her film "Gangs of Baghdad" from 2007 was already about kidnappings, extortion and indiscriminate, but also targeted murders. Two films that show what consequences wars can have when order is destroyed and arbitrariness takes hold instead.
Goal All people, regardless of ethnicity, religion or nation, have the right to live in peace and freedom. This film wants to give a voice to the people affected by war and persecution. For the first time, the inhumanity and brutality of the IS are told by those directly affected. The special focus is on women. But the film is not limited to Iraq. Christians from Turkey were driven out of their homeland in the 80s and 90s of the last century and those from Iraq and Syria at the beginning of the 21st century. Today they are scattered and live torn all over the world.
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