International Competition

The War Show

Andreas Dalsgaard, Obaidah Zytoon
Screening time  
27.02. / Monday, 16:00 - 18:00 Theatre 5  
28.02. / Tuesday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 1  
03.03. / Friday, 15:00 - 17:00 Theatre 3  
A deeply personal road movie, the film captures the fate of Syria through the intimate lens of a small circle of friends.

In March 2011, radio host Obaidah Zytoon and her circle of friends join the street protests against President Bashar al-Assad, as the Arab Spring reaches Syria. Knowing their country would be changed forever, this group of artists and activists begin filming their lives and the events around them. But as the regime’s violent response spirals the country into a bloody civil war, their hopes for a better future will be tested by violence, imprisonment and death. Obaidah leaves Damascus and journeys around the country, from her hometown of Zabadani, to the center of the rebellion in Homs, and to northern Syria where she witnesses the rise of extremism. A deeply personal road movie, the film captures the fate of Syria through the intimate lens of a small circle of friends.

Andreas_dalsgaard

Andreas Dalsgaard

Andreas Dalsgaard is a director born in 1980 in Denmark, graduated from the National Film School of Denmark as a fiction film director in 2009. He made his directorial debut with the documentary Afghan Muscles (2007), winner of the Best Director prize at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles. Working in documentary since, his films include Bogota Change (2009), The Human Scale (2012), the doc-fiction Travelling with Mr. T (2012), Life is Sacred (2015) and The War Show (2016).

Obaidah

Obaidah Zytoon

Obaidah Zytoon is a radio host and director born in 1976 in Syria. She studied English Literature at the University of Damascus before becoming a radio host and producer, working both in Syria and internationally. In 2008, Zytoon produced her first documentary film, Through Women's Eyes. She co-founded the Syrian artist-activist collective Waw Al-Wasel, producing multi-media art and short films related to the Syrian conflict. The War Show (2016) is her directorial debut.

General sponsor

Denmark
2016, 100'

Directed by:
Andreas Dalsgaard, Obaidah Zytoon

Screenplay by:
Andreas Dalsgaard

Cinematography:
Obaidah Zytoon, Amr Kheito, Hisham Issa, Dana Bakdounes, Lars Skree, Wasim Anonymous, Tahani Burhan

Edited by:
Adam Nielsen

Music:
Colin Stetson

Producers:
Miriam Nørgaard, Ronnie Fridthjof, Alaa Hassan

Produced by:
Fridthjof Film a/s, Oktober Oy, Dharma Film

Festivals & Awards:

Bergen International Film festival 2016 – Best Documentary; Signes de Nuit 2016 – Student Jury Award; Venice Days 2016 – Jury Prize; IDFA 2016; Toronto International Film Festival 2016; Reykjavík International Film Festival 2016; BFI London Film Festival 2016; Mumbai Film Festival 2016; DOK Leipzig 2016; Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2016; Dubai International Film Festival 2016; DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival 2016; Göteborg International Film Festival 2016; Istanbul Independent Film Festival 2016