For Sama (18)****
Dirs: Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
Runtime: 100 minutes
FOR Sama begins with a scene familiar to millions: a mother gazing at her baby and the babe looking back, delighted with the world and her ability to put her toes in her mouth. Then all hell breaks loose, for this is Aleppo during the siege, when Russian planes dropped death from the skies and the Assad regime and Islamist rebels wrought carnage on the ground.
“What a life I have brought you into,” says director Waad al-Kateab, left, co-director of this awards-winning documentary with Edward Watts. “Will you ever forgive me?” Sama’s parents stay in the Syrian city because he is a doctor and she is a journalist, both believing they must remain to fight for the cause of freedom, document what is happening, and help those left behind. Whether it is the right decision is the question that runs silently through this unforgettable film. A harrowing watch (note the 18 certificate) that documents an atrocity the world turned its back on. ALISON ROWAT
GFT till September 19; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, September 20-24
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here