Céline Roustan
One is in Scotland, the other in Canada. They have not seen each other in ten years, ever since war broke out and prevented the UK-based family from visiting their relatives in the Syrian capital. Born in Damascus is a poignant depiction of the effects of war from a very personal perspective, as filmmaker Laura Wadha (Flight) documents how she reconnects with her cousin, as they both try to understand what happened to their family, now displaced all over the world.
Wadha shared that she started developing the film in 2020 when the first lockdown restricted traveling and made it impossible for most to see loved ones, prompting the realization that for her, it had already been the case for a while. The last time she had been to Syria was in 2010, and since then she had not been able to see her family because of the war. Separated and displaced, her family ended up all over the world, but she decided to focus on how that has affected her relationship with her cousin Lujain, who she used to be closest with.
Wadha reconnects with her cousin over video calls.
One could argue that there has been no shortage of films about the situation in Syria made over the last decade, but Born in Damascus has a much broader universality in what it depicts, even though it is inherently deeply personal. As Wadha invites the audience into her own experience of processing the effect of displacement on her family, we witness the raw and unfiltered conversation – touching on their life before and during the war and how years later they have grown apart – she has with her cousin. “People often talk about the immediate displacement that comes with war and not how long-lasting the trauma is that comes with it”, Wadha made a point of sharing with us.
The film was structured from the conversations Wadha and her cousin had as they reconnected online. Wadha, who also edited the film, then started looking through the archival footage she had to find videos of the two cousins when they were younger, creating the parallel between their bond as kids and now, all these years later. This also allowed them to both see how the other remembers the past, an aspect that is fascinating to hear them address, as both have contrasting relationships to their country, and how the war changed their lives. Additionally, in Wadha’s case, reconnecting with her cousin now is also a way to reconnect to Syria, a/her country that she did not know she was not going to be able to go back to the last time she left, and still does not know when she will be able to see again.
Born in Damascus had its world premiere at the 2021 Edinburgh International Film Festival. It had its International Premiere at the 2022 Berlinale, in the Generation 14plus section where it won the Crystal Bear Award for Best Film. The film premiered online through The Guardian.