Rawad Hobeika

Tragedy strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo. This triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries.

When Isra’a discovers she is expecting another baby amid the civil war in Yemen, she and her husband decide she should have an abortion. But this creates enormous difficulties – in their relationship and elsewhere. A moving story from an all-too-often forgotten crisis region.

Palestine, 1948. After the withdrawal of the British occupiers, tensions rise between Arabs and Jews. Meanwhile, Farha, the smart daughter of the mayor of a small village, unaware of the coming tragedy, dreams of going to study in the big city.

The Karantina Hospital houses one of only two paediatric departments in Lebanon. It is a safe haven for ill babies unable to get treatment elsewhere. In 2014, this ward was established via the charitable work of ASSAMEH Birth & Beyond. Sadly, on the 4th August 2020 the hospital was badly damaged in the Beirut port explosion forcing it to shut down and relocate to a temporary location. This short film takes us into the hospital a couple of months before the explosion to meet the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to help sick and vulnerable children. Through their struggle and dedication, we see the fragility of the Lebanese healthcare system in relation to its weak economy and precarious work force as well as the altruism of the Lebanese people, offering glimmers of life to ill, sometimes neglected and hopeless, babies.

Shortly after Muzamil was born, the village's holy man predicts that he will die at age 20. Muzamil's father can't stand the curse and leaves home. Sakina raises her son as a single mother, overly protective. One day, Muzamil turns 19.

Desperate to escape Lebanon and settle in Europe, Lillo buys himself a Syrian passport and is ready to appropriate the Syrian identity to obtain asylum. However, what he might not be ready for yet, is everything that comes along with being a Syrian refugee today.