Filmscreening and Discussion "Under the Sky of Damascus"

Date: Wednesday, May 28th, 5-8 pm
Location: Leuphana Campus, Central Building, Lecture Hall 3 
Screening & Public Conversation

Under the Sky of Damascus, which celebrated its world premiere at the 2023 Berlinale, is a stirring documentary film about the courage to speak out in a society that insists on silence. Directors Heba Khaled, Talal Derki and Ali Wajeeh accompany a group of young actresses in Damascus who want to develop a theatre play - based on the harrowing, anonymous reports of Syrian women about violence, abuse and systematic sexism.

What begins as an artistic project soon becomes a mirror of a society in which patriarchal control is deeply rooted - not only on the streets, but also in families, partnerships and even within the project itself. The stories the film shows are disturbing - from forced marriages and abuse to inconceivable court rulings that protect perpetrators and force victims to remain silent. Under the Sky of Damascus is proof that women in Syria - despite fear, control and repression - are raising their voices to make themselves heard.

For Talal Derki and his wife Hebab Khaled, who met as journalists, returning to Syria is tantamount to a death sentence. Khaled, who is directing a film for the first time, is a survivor herself. She grew up in a deeply conservative Muslim family in Damascus and left Syria in 2014.

2023 | Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh | Denmark, Germany, USA, Syria | 88 min | Arabic Original with English subtitles