Interview with Dr Hamza al-Kataeb & Dr Saleyha Ahsan

Dr Saleyha Ahsan interviews Dr Hamza al-Kataeb maker of the acclaimed film ‘For Sama’ at the WEM Conference   They discuss the challenges faced providing medical care under extraordinary circumstances, the work of filmmaker Waad al-Kateab and raising their daughter during the uprising in Aleppo.

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.

Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts.