Documentary Traces Child’s Graffiti to Revolution in Syria

In a movie exhibiting combat and death, torture and trauma, it may seem difficult to characterize “Cries from Syria” as an argument for hope. But Director/Producer Evgeny Afineevsky stands by the claim that with exposure comes the potential for positive action. HBO’s hasty acquisition of the TV rights lends weight to his assertion, trusting that their audience is ready for frank images of babies caught in a gruesome conflict.

“Usually documentaries about war are featuring soldiers and politicians. Since 2011 Syrians have been fighting for dignity, democracy, and freedom of speech after 40 years of dictatorship. Look how many are women and children losing their lives,” the filmmaker insists. “The lost generation of Syrian kids needs to be heard. In many cases, parents are sending their youngsters out of Syria hoping they’ll survive. Going from hell into the unknown.”

The documentary, which premiered at Sundance then appeared on HBO in March 2017, begins at the end with Syrians fleeing by boat into the murky sea. Video of the drowned three-year-old Kurdish Syrian Alan Kurdi being lapped by waves face-down on the Turkish shore immediately sets the tone with an image so globally ubiquitous, Afineevsky and his creative team decided to morph the shape of the boy into a map of Syria itself.

Remarkably, the Oscar-nominated documentarian (“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom”) has audio of the dead toddler’s father recounting the trauma, the first of numerous instances in which rare access marks the work as a document for the ages. Afineevsky’s archive is arguably the most sophisticated collection on the war in Syria to date.

An opening narration by Helen Mirren offers a historical recap before the production is handily turned over to Syrian activists, rebels and refugees who tell their own stories.

“For the first time, a film puts these horrific images in context and takes a comprehensive look at the Syrian civil war and all its flash points across over the past six years,” Afineevsky enumerates, “from the torture and murder of children by the Russia-backed Assad regime, to the popular protests which followed, to the chemical weapons attacks, to the rise of ISIS, and to the biggest refugee crisis since WWII.”

A tearful but assertive account of events following the Arab Spring by a twenty-something anti-regime activist weaves the story into a cohesive plot. Kholoud Helmi in white hijab and pink sweater carries the report with conviction in clear English. “We demonstrated holding roses and bottles of water, and he called us terrorists?” she asks, incredulous at her president’s remark.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears briefly in the film offering assurances to a news reporter that the majority of his constituents are “the good Syrians, the patriots, the natural people. Of course, you have the infiltration of the terrorists among them. Our job as the government is to save their lives through destroying the terrorists.”

The challenge with such avuncular logic is in pairing that philosophy with the practice of cracking down on civilians with brute military force and using torture and execution as standard practice in quelling dissent.

Helmi says, “Kids are tortured and killed. And why? Only because they wrote a sentence on the wall?

The Writing on the Wall

When Bashar al-Assad was elected in 2000, the British-educated ophthalmologist took over from his father Hafez al-Assad, inheriting the self-defined secular nationalist Ba’athist regime, but projecting a reformer image that moved many in Syria to anticipate relief from tyranny. In 1982 the elder Assad had sent the army to defeat a Muslim Brotherhood revolt in the town of Hama killing thousands of Syrians – by some estimates as many as 40,000 – in an uprising known as the “Hama Massacre” that lasted only 27 days. Old habits die hard.

In the vicarious afterglow of liberation euphoria witnessed in the Arab Spring of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, a schoolboy in the southern town of Dara’a scrawled the words “You’re next, Doctor” on the wall of his school building. There was hell to pay.

A rousing cinematic sound track by cellist/composer Martin Tillman accompanies one tragic vignette after another throughout the feature-length experience. Then after an affecting tribute to the “White Helmets,” Syria’s volunteer civil defense corps, the closing credits roll to the sound of Cher’s unmistakable mezzo in “Prayers for This World,” a mother-and-child dialogue in song by Grammy- and Emmy-winner Diane Warren featuring the West Los Angeles Children’s Choir.

Why does he do it?

Afineevsky’s film “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” became a phenomenon in Latin America. “My movie became the story of inspiration to stand against corrupt governments in other countries.”

According to Afineevsky, the Ukraine documentary has been shown around Venezuela at bookshops, universities, public squares and arts cinemas. Forums and discussions often follow. “Then in Brazil, last year. For me it’s about the movie achieving something, changing hearts and minds, inspiring people for good and making history,” he intones.

“With ‘Cries from Syria,’ I hope I can show people what real war looks like and the importance of preserving peace. I hope it teaches people to cherish their freedoms. Because you know what? Tomorrow, we can all lose it.”

Recalling the news headlines of 2015 in Europe, Afineevsky discovered that all refugees were being labeled as “these invading Syrians trying to take over our cities, bringing their Islam and terrorism,” while the vast majority were from other countries. Factual information was a missing link.

“As human beings we fear something we don’t know. Lack of knowledge causes fear. But when we know they’re fleeing war, and their chance of survival is small…if we understand that they’re only looking for shelter, we can help them. All together we can help stop the atrocities.”

Danger Zones

Afineevsky took himself to Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan where the most Syrian refugees were for eye witness accounts, traveling repeatedly to areas prone to attack.

Two of his main sources appearing in the documentary, Abdul Baset Al-Sarout and Hadi Al Abdullah, are targeted for assassination by ISIS or al-Qaeda. Considering numerous failed attempts to kill the sportsman-turned-activist and the video reporter, being with them put Afineevsky frequently in the line of fire .

“I think I realized the danger I was in only after I finished the movie. When you’re rushing through your day trying to do something, you’re not thinking about danger,” he explains. “You’re on high alert, but you’re moving forward. I tried to keep low-key. The real danger is when you’re off-guard. What happened in Las Vegas, for example.”

Attitude of Gratitude

Having lived in the US for 18 years now, Afineevsky says he cherishes what this country has given him. “Freedom of speech and expression as an artist. Being an independent filmmaker and artist and not a part of the media network, I have the freedom, ability and privilege to take the time to meet and understand people, to document their stories that can be seen later by the entire world. In current times, some would say it is becoming a responsibility as a filmmaker to help people tell their story. Most American people think they’re born into these rights and values and can never lose them. Time is of the essence, and Americans need to understand the deeper issues in Syria, because what is happening in Syria will affect us here at home.”

Afineevsky is out on a limb in a polemical debate. But one thing he says all can agree on is that families are in a state of catastrophe, and they need a way out of their unending dilemma.

“My goal is bringing voices to every corner of this world, every politician and lawmaker, every human rights defender,” he says. “Kids are designing solutions to feed themselves and their entire families. They’re fighting in different groups. I interviewed kids in ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Kurdish army, Free Syrian Army, I saw all these little fighters ready to give everything to fight for their own lives and their motherland’s future. We can ease this catastrophe.”

Who will “Cries from Syria” reach next?

In some fulfillment of his goal, Afineevsky has already been invited to advise on matters related to the Syrian conflict and its outcomes, conducting a sensitivity training with asylum officers in the Department of Homeland Security, sharing his film with bipartisan members of Congress, and screening it at the closing of this summer’s World justice Forum in the Hague with keynote by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Now in addition to launching an outreach program doing screenings and speaking engagements in schools, the filmmaker will lend his work to pediatrician and public health activist Dr. Irwin Redlener who is head of Children’s Health Fund and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at The Earth Institute at Columbia University for a toxic trauma program yet to be announced.

“At the end of the day, our generation and the generation of our parents hasn’t seen a war from the inside like this,” Afineevsky contends. “It’s important to help people escape the war and help them deal with their nightmares. It’s in their genes now. It affects their kids and grandkids. Dr. Redlener thinks my film could be a catalyst for saving future generations of kids.”