The film documents a remarkable photography project; a group of women, from five cities in Iraq, live and work together in a traditional courtyard house in the Old City of the Syrian capital, Damascus. There they learn to take photographs, and at the same time, present their ‘life maps’ to each other; large charts full of family photos, scrawled poetry and quotations, the names of emotions and crisscrossing green, red and black marker lines, detailing all the ups and downs, forwards and reverses of their lives. With grief, humour, defiance, the women are able to unearth memories and tell stories, which have remained buried for 30 years in the course of just trying to survive devastating years of war, dictatorship and sanctions. In the end, they have woven together the threads of their individual lives into a collective fabric. And because this is a creative project, the experience is transformative; the act of remembering and listening is dynamic and productive.
Directed by Maysoon Pachachi
Your score–
Not scoredRelated

Naqoyqatsi

Nothing Like a Dame

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

Come See Me in the Good Light

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

My Mom Jayne

Fuck

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

28 Up

The Walking Dead: The Return

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

To Kill a Tiger

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch

For Sama