Under the Sky of Damascus

Synopsis

Directors: Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh

Producers: Sigrid Dyekjaer, Talal Derki, Heba Khaled, Beth Earl

Denmark, Germany, U.S., Syria, 88 min

A group of courageous young Syrian women come together to fight back against the pervasive misogyny in their war-ravaged country by staging a theatrical production. In creating one of the first plays written and directed entirely by women in Damascus, they face a series of psychological challenges that will push them, their relationships, and their project to the brink. From Oscar-nominated Syrian exile filmmaker Talal Derki (Of Fathers and Sons), working with his wife Heba Khaled and co-director Ali Wajeeh, comes this potent, tense, and masterfully crafted work of nonfiction that exposes the plight of women as they struggle to reclaim their power—both in their own society, and in a shocking narrative twist, the making of the documentary itself. “Impressive,” “essential,” and “immersive” (Screen International), the award-winning Under the Sky of Damascus is “a harrowing but hopeful portrait of women under siege” (Variety).