Personal Background and Early Life

• Filmmaker and refugee from small village in northern Syria
• Childhood without stable electricity, nights around gas lanterns
• Grew up hearing stories of Syrian mythological superbeings protecting vulnerable
• Boy who loved superhero stories

Family Trauma Under Assad Regime

• Stories shifted to tales of heroes family faced under Assad dictatorship
• Uncle killed under torture
• Father forced to burn unpublished books to protect family from regime
  • Father "burned his dreams along with his books"
• Parents insisted these stories must not be forgotten
• Storytelling transformed from pastime to form of resistance

Filmmaking as Resistance

• Studied filmmaking, focused on documentaries
• Documentary filmmaking became way of resistance
• Documented stories of Syrians opposing Assad regime starting 2011 revolution
• Arrested, tortured, and sexually assaulted
• Released and left Syria traumatized
• Attempted suicide, wife helped him survive
• Stopped making films as result

Return to Syria and Rediscovering Purpose

• Despite risks, visited family when Assad regime lost control of northern Syria (year later)
• Met inspiring Syrians - "real life superheroes" who stayed to save lives
• Spontaneously began filming again without planning
• These real-life superheroes "saved the filmmaker in me"

Featured Heroes in Films

Khalid - "Last Men in Aleppo"

• Simple man who dreamed to be firefighter but couldn't follow dream
• Worked as house painter
• When war destroyed city, found his calling
• Joined White Helmets - Syrian volunteer civil defense organization
• Rescued civilians from bombed homes
• Saved hundreds of lives
• Died as hero

Dr. Amani Ballour - "The Cave"

• Extraordinary woman who founded underground hospital in eastern Ghouta
• Treated injured children, victims of atrocities while bombs fell
• As female scientist, defied sexism and patriarchy
• Saved civilians who suffered two chemical weapons attacks

Personal Heroes - Lawyers

• Khalil Ma'touq and Anwar al-Bunni
• Lawyers who took up his case
• Got him out of most notorious torture facilities in Damascus
• Anwar now in Germany fighting for justice for Syrian refugees
• Khalil arrested 2012 for his work
• Syrian regime continues to deny Khalil's arrest
• His whereabouts unknown

Seeking Justice

• Faced torturer in Germany for Khalil
• June 2020: gave testimony at first trial on Syrian state torture
• Trial held before German court in Koblenz

Creating Cinematic Universe

• Inspired by Amani and Khalid to continue filmmaking
• Creating new cinematic universe of superheroes based on their quest to end injustice
• Brutal struggle against racism and discrimination in film industry
• Industry dominated by people who think they know how audience wants films about Syrians
• Challenges stereotypes about how superheroes or refugees should look

Mission and Legacy

• Refugees look just like him
• These refugees were superheroes who defied status quo and stereotype
• Owes it to them and his daughter (young refugee child)
• Will continue telling stories of superheroes who look like his daughter
• Continuing resistance through storytelling