Narratives of Today: Film Screening Tours Across Syrian Cities and Towns
Ettijahat – Independent Culture announces the film screening tours selected for support in the current edition of its Narratives of Today initiative. The selection committee has chosen to support four tours that will travel through a number of Syrian cities and rural areas, offering diverse programming of Syrian films produced over the past decade, as well as earlier Syrian films that have not been accessible to audiences in Syria before. These screenings will foster vital discussions with the public on timely and pressing artistic, political, and social issues.
The Narratives of Today initiative aims to promote the right of the Syrian public to watch Syrian cinema produced in recent years and to enable filmmakers to present their work to audiences from all walks of life, wherever they live. It seeks to expand access to diverse audiences within their local contexts and to create spaces for dialogue among Syrians about their lived realities and the priorities of the current moment, drawing on the wide range of issues raised by Syrian cinema.
The initiative continues to support film screening tours in its second edition and is now receiving applications from programmers and filmmakers. The call for applications remains open until midnight on 15 January 2026.
To apply and view the frequently asked questions, please click here. To learn more about the Narratives of Today initiative, please click here.
Supported Projects
Homs Cinema Community – Syrian Spaces Tour
The Syrian Spaces Tour seeks to reconnect Syria’s visual memory with audiences in the cities and neighbourhoods that witnessed the years of revolution and war. The tour presents films that blend autobiography with the history of place, with screenings in Homs, Deir Baalba in the Homs countryside, Damascus, Jaramana and Duma in Rif Dimashq (Rural Damascus), and Aleppo. It also offers opportunities for discussions and short workshops with local audiences.
Stories Film – Omar’s Lens Tour
The Omar’s Lens Tour presents three films by director Omar Amiralay over three days in Deir al-Assafir in Eastern Ghouta and Daraya in Western Ghouta, Damascus. The screenings will be followed by discussions with Syrian filmmaker Ossama Mohammed to encourage engagement and dialogue around local realities and both personal and collective experience.
Jaramana Cinema Club – Screen and Talk Tour
The Screen and Talk Tour celebrates Syrian cinema, presenting six documentary, narrative, and animated films produced during the Syrian revolution, to shed light on the experiences of Syrians across different regions. The tour includes screenings in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia, Tartous, Sweida, and Aleppo, accompanied by discussion sessions and activities for children and young people.
Bahr Raii – Cinema Tour
This tour presents two Syrian films: the documentary Sol by Zahra Alboudi, which tells the inspiring story of musician Gabi Sahyouni, and the short experimental film Paralysis (Shalal) by Aram Abdulrahim. Screenings will be held in Tartous and in the city of Latakia and its northern countryside, followed by discussion sessions led by industry professionals.
The names of selection committee members will be announced after the conclusion of the next edition of the initiative.
Selection Committee Statement
In the projects submitted to the Narratives of Today initiative, the selection committee observed a remarkable understanding among programmers and filmmakers in Syria of cinema’s role as a space for recovery and connection after many years of rupture and hardship. Most proposals demonstrated a deep awareness of the importance of bringing cinematic experiences to broad audiences and stimulating discussion around the political and social questions that concern Syrians today.
The submitted projects were largely shaped by themes of identity, memory, and coexistence, expressed through the selection of films that document experiences of war, revolution, and societal transformation, and that revisit questions of belonging and the ability of cinema to preserve multiple narratives. Documentary films were particularly prominent, while narrative and animated films were almost entirely absent – an observation that underscores the value of further diversifying visual forms in future editions.
As for screening conditions, most proposals demonstrated an awareness of logistical and security challenges and offered appropriate solutions for addressing electricity shortages and limited equipment. Several projects also paid thoughtful attention to the public discussions accompanying the screenings and to the importance of facilitating in-depth dialogue around the sensitive issues raised by the films. However, it was noted that some projects remained limited to specific areas or were confined to screenings in the locations where the films were shot, which restricts the circulation and exchange of cinematic experiences across different governorates.
The committee invites applicants in the next edition to consider programming a more diverse selection of films that extends beyond personal works, offering audiences a broader opportunity to engage with the wide range of cinematic experiences that have emerged in recent years. It also recommends improving the quality of application materials to more accurately reflect the nature of the proposed films and the implementation plans for the screenings. In addition, the committee calls on applicants to strengthen partnerships with cultural centres and local institutions and to approach such collaborations with a view toward future, sustainable cooperation.
Finally, the committee expresses its appreciation for the vision shared by most of the projects regarding the role of cinema in promoting civil peace and rebuilding trust among Syrians. It sees in these initiatives an opportunity to reconnect audiences with cinematic experiences that have long been absent and to revive the necessary dialogue about the present and the future.
This initiative is implemented in partnership with Aflamuna and is supported by the Embassy of France in Syria, Stichting DOEN, and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
