writer / director / producer
writer / director / producer
22 min, short documentary
Samer Al Sees is one of roughly 12 million Syrians displaced since the Syrian War broke out in 2011. He fled Daraa with his wife and young son after a bomb landed near their house. Although his new home - Jordan's sprawling Zaatari Refugee Camp - is just 10 miles from the Syrian border, the uncertain existence in the camp seems an eternity from his life in Daraa, where he owned a barbershop and took pride in his garden. In this dusty, unwelcoming place, Samer and his fellow refugees strive for day-to-day normality and structure, often through the rhythms and routines of his makeshift barbershop, while dreaming of one day returning home.
Winner Best Short Documentary - Newport Beach Film Festival
Winner Human Security Award - We the People’s Film Festival (London)
Nominated Best Short Documentary - Sheffield DocFest (International Premiere)
Official Selection Docslisboa Film Festival
Official Selection Heartland Film Festival
Official Selection American Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection Arab Film Festival (California)
Official Selection United Nations Association Film Festival
Official Selection Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
Official Selection El Ojo Cojo International Film Festival
Official Selection Twin Cities Arab Film Festival
Official Selection Syria Film Festival (Toronto)
Official Selection Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam
Official Selection Cinemigrante Film Festival
Official Selection 16th International Human Rights Film Festival
Official Selection Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos de Barcelona