Return to Homs

Director: Talal Derki
Germany, Syrian Arab Republic | Arabic
2013 | 94min | Colour  Subtitles: English
Sunday, Nov 2 Clubhouse, 3:30 PM

Return to Homs, Talal Derki’s award-winning documentary (Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize 2014), follows nineteen-year-old goalkeeper-turned-insurgent, Abdul Basset, as he and a ragtag group of comrades fight to protect the captive inhabitants of the besieged city of Homs. As one of the unlikely leaders of the Syrian rebellion Basset has become something of a totemic figure, with Le Monde labelling him an ‘icon of the revolution’. His protest songs and dark sense of humour reflect his dream of peaceful liberation from Assad’s oppressive regime, but when their hopeful uprising is met with violent resistance by government forces, he and his companions take up arms. Trailing the fearless crew over a two-year period, this remarkable film sees the city Basset once knew and loved, deserted and torn apart beyond recognition. As audacious hope turns to despair, Derki presents the real desperation behind the bloodied faces and waving rifles that have become Syria’s refrain.

Talal Derki

Born in Damascus in 1977, Talal Derki is a Syrian filmmaker who studied directing in Athens, graduating in 2003. His short fiction films and documentaries have screened at various festivals (including Thessaloniki and the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam) and have won multiple awards (including the Silver Hawk at the 2011 Arab Film Festival Rotterdam for “Azadi” and a jury special mention at the 2012 Arab Camera Film Festival for “Lajat”; both of the award-winners were made during the Syrian revolution before Talal decided to leave the country with his family). Derki has also worked intensively as a video reporter, for important agencies and outlets such as Thomson Reuters, CNN, ITV, Al Arabiya, and France 24. A finalist at the 2012 Rory Peck Awards, Derki is also a published poet.

Credits

Director: Talal Derki
Producers: Orwa Nyrabia, Hans Robert Eisenhauer
Cinematographers: Kahtan Hassoun, Ossama Al Homsi, Talal Derki, Orwa Nyrabia
Editor: Anne Fabini
Music: Katarina Holmberg
Production Company: Proaction Film & Ventana Films

Festival Appearances & Awards

Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Chicago/New York, 2014
 Nestor Almendros Award Krakow Film Festival, 2014
 Silver Horn Feature Documentary DocsBarcelona, 2014
Best Documentary San Francisco International Film Festival, 2014
Special Jury Recognition Middle East Now Film Festival, Florence, 2014
Audience Award: Best Film FIFDH, Geneve, 2014
Grand Prix Du Festival Sundance Film Festival, 2014
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize
Documentary Sheffield Doc Fest, 2014
New Directors New Films, New York City, 2014
IDFA, 2013