Return to Homs Web

Return to Homs

Year 2013
Runtime 90 mins
Language Arabic
Subtitles Yes
na Premiere

For hope to exist, there must first be desperation.

Nineteen-year-old Abdul Basset is the goalkeeper for the Syrian national soccer team. His career is interrupted by a revolution, and in 2011 the charismatic young man becomes an iconic protest leader and singer; his songs reflect his dream of peaceful liberation from Assad's brutal regime, and a Syria where all can be equal. Meanwhile, Ossama is a 24-year-old media activist and pacifist wielding his camera to document the revolution, who wants no blood on his hands. Soon enough, the army cracks down and their beloved Homs becomes a bombed-out ghost town. Running out of options, these two peaceful protesters take up arms and transform into renegade insurgents – knowing that results can be potentially devastating.

Countries

Germany Syria
Awards
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival 2014, Golden Gate Award - Special Jury Recognition Best Documentary Feature San Francisco International Film Festival 2014, Silver Horn Best Feature-Length Documentary Cracow Film Festival 2014
Festivals
Sundance Film Festival 2014, HotDocs 2014
Director
Talal Derki
Producer
Orwa Nyrabia, Hans Robert Eisenhauer
Screenwriter
Talal Derki
Cinematographer
Kahtan Hassoun, Ossama Al Homsi, Talal Derki, Orwa Nyrabia
Editor
Anne Fabini