
WARNING: This film contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
Tickets for this event are no longer on sale.
On Thursday, April 15th, the CMU IFF emulated our in-person event by hosting a screening followed by a free Live Discussion on Zoom with Sana Mustafa.
“For Sama powerfully mixes the personal and the political to thought-provoking, emotional ends. The result is one of the best documentaries of 2019.” - Ian Feer, Empire
How do people survive and care for one another in the midst of constant violence? For Sama is a gripping documentary about daily life in Aleppo during the war in Syria. The recipient of numerous international awards, it is based on the remarkable videos made by Syrian journalist, Waad Al-Kateab, as she volunteers at one of the few remaining hospitals, meets and marries one of the doctors there, and gives birth to their first daughter, Sama, all in the face of repeated bombings and fighting on the ground. The film is cast as a letter to Sama when she is older, intended to explain why her parents chose to remain so long in their home city as the violence and civilian deaths kept mounting around them.
Listen to our Spotify playlist inspired by the film!
- Year2019
- Runtime100 minutes
- CountryUnited States, United Kingdom, Syrian Arab Republic
- DirectorWaad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts

WARNING: This film contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.
Tickets for this event are no longer on sale.
On Thursday, April 15th, the CMU IFF emulated our in-person event by hosting a screening followed by a free Live Discussion on Zoom with Sana Mustafa.
“For Sama powerfully mixes the personal and the political to thought-provoking, emotional ends. The result is one of the best documentaries of 2019.” - Ian Feer, Empire
How do people survive and care for one another in the midst of constant violence? For Sama is a gripping documentary about daily life in Aleppo during the war in Syria. The recipient of numerous international awards, it is based on the remarkable videos made by Syrian journalist, Waad Al-Kateab, as she volunteers at one of the few remaining hospitals, meets and marries one of the doctors there, and gives birth to their first daughter, Sama, all in the face of repeated bombings and fighting on the ground. The film is cast as a letter to Sama when she is older, intended to explain why her parents chose to remain so long in their home city as the violence and civilian deaths kept mounting around them.
Listen to our Spotify playlist inspired by the film!
- Year2019
- Runtime100 minutes
- CountryUnited States, United Kingdom, Syrian Arab Republic
- DirectorWaad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts