Soudade Kaadan’s poetic tale of family life in the bombed-out Syrian capital is visually poetic, if a touch too theatricalThere’s an unexpected flourish of magical realism in this story of life under siege in Syria. Fourteen-year-old Zeina (Hala Zein) lives with her mother and father in Damascus; at the dogged insistence of her father, Mutaz (Samer...

Nezouh, a dreamlike story of a family under siege in Damascus, seeks to portray the difficult decision of all refugees as to whether to stay or leave the country they loveWhen Soudade Kaadan embarked on the journey to make a film about her war-torn home city of Damascus, she was burdened by “certain expectations as to how a Syrian film should look”.“They...

For the first time Ukraine had the right conditions to make reparations to those subjected to crimes such as rape and sexual slavery. What would it take to replicate this globally?Across the world, women and girls continue to be plagued by gross human rights violations. One that is specifically targeted at them is conflict-related sexual violence. Living...

Soudade Kaadan’s second feature is a sweet-natured and beautifully photographed portrait of a grumpy middle-aged guy, his sceptical wife and their teenage daughterHere is the second feature from Syrian film-maker Soudade Kaadan, set in a Damascus suburb during the most brutal shelling of the civil war, among the remaining traumatised residents wondering...

The country is on the defensive. While Israel has ironclad support from its allies, Tehran is vulnerable and isolatedTit-for-tat confrontation between Israel and Iran has sparked concerns about escalation dragging the Middle East into all-out war. Such a scenario remains unlikely because neither Israel nor Iran would benefit from full-on conflict. But...

A US official confirmed rockets were fired towards troops at a coalition base in Syria, but no personnel were injuredHaaretz reports that Israeli security forces have arrested two people suspected of carrying out a car ramming in Jerusalem. Three people are reported to have been injured.Aharon Haliva, who was the general in command of the IDF’s military...