The spring of 2015 marks the 4th anniversary of the Syrian Revolution. While current developments leave little hope for an end of the conflict in the near future, individual stories are often overshadowed by political battles. What started as a pacifist movement has transformed into a civil war earmarked by destruction and brutality of the Syrian regime and ISIS.
On February 17th, the Heinrich Boell Foundation North America will host Christin Luettich (producer) and Mohammad Ali Atassi (co-director) in Washington, DC for a screening and panel discussion of their documentary “Our Terrible Country” which sheds light on the personal stories of two Syrians and their daily struggles during the Syrian revolution. The documentary has won several awards, including the Grand Prix of the International Competition at the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film (FID) in 2014, the Prix Ulysse CCAS-Agglomération de Montpellier of International Competition Documentary Films at Cinemed Festival 2014 Montpellier/France and Best Film of International Competition at the 2014 Forumdoc Festival Belo Horizonte in Brasil.
The screening and post- screening panel discussion will take place on February 17th at 6 pm at the E Street Cinema. The event is free of charge and a reception will follow the screening.
For a recent New York Times film review please click here. To RSVP for the film screening and discussion, please click here.
Biography Mohammad Ali Atassi
Mohammad Ali Atassi is a journalist and documentary filmmaker who was born in 1967 in Damascus, Syria. Mr. Atassi obtained a diploma in civil engineering from Damascus University in 1992 and a DEA in history from the Sorbonne Paris 4 in 1996. Since 2000, he has been writing for several Arab and international newspapers on political and cultural topics. In 2001, he filmed his first documentary portraying the experiences of Riad Turk, a Syrian dissident, who has spent 18 years of his life in Syrian prisons. Mr. Atassi’s films have been shown in several festivals worldwide and he has gained several awards for his work.
Filmography of Mohammad Ali Atassi
1. Ibn Al Am Online (2012), Film on Syrian dissident Riad Turk within the Syrian Revolution. Documentary.
2. Waiting for Abu Zaid (2010), Film on Egyptian Kur’anic thinker and one of the leading liberal theologians in Islam. Documentary.
3. Ibn Al Am (2001), Film on Syrian dissident Riad Turk. Documentary.
Biography Christin Luettich
From 2007- 2011 Christin Luettich lived in Damascus, Syria, where she pursued a career in the field of development cooperation. Since 2012, he has been living in Beirut, Lebanon, where she currently is the Coordinator of the Syrian project ‘Bidayyat’ (‘Beginnings’). Bidayyat dedicates its work to the support and promotion of young, Syrian documentary film projects.
Ms. Luettich holds a French- German double degree in political science.