Born in Damascus

Blue skies , the ocean, people walking across an imposing square, Laura’s cousin laughing into the video camera: with holiday footage taken many years ago, far removed from all the recent images of war, a Scottish-Syrian filmmaker tells the story of her family’s regular trips to Syria to visit their relatives in Damascus. It has now been more than ten years since she last saw her cousin. Hoping to reconstruct a positive image of the past, she clicks the call icon.
by Laura Wadha
with Laura Wadha, Lujain Zoalghena
United Kingdom 2021 English, Arabic 15’ Colour Documentary form recommendation: 14 years and up

With

  • Laura Wadha
  • Lujain Zoalghena

Crew

Director Laura Wadha
Editing Laura Wadha
Music Harry Brokensha
Sound Design Ruth Knight
Producer Charlotte Hailstone
Executive Producers Noé Mendelle, Flore Cosquer

Laura Wadha

Born in 1994, the filmmaker studied documentary directing at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, UK. Her graduation film Isle of Us premiered at the Sheffield DocFest. In her short film Flight she followed her two cousins as they made their journey from Syria to Sweden.

Filmography

2013 Saved by Shrapnel; short documentary 2014 Hester; short film 2017 Flight; short documentary 2018 Like Sunday; short film · What Happened to Baghdad; short documentary 2019 Journey to Achill Island; short documentary 2020 Isle of Us; short documentary 2021 Born in Damascus; short documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2022