In the end, I will end up becoming annoying, but I have to say once more that documentaries prove that “Truth is stranger than fiction” repeatedly in the most pointed way. “Under the Sky of Damascus” a movie focusing on a group of young Syrian women who decide to produce a play using anonymous statements of women that have suffered in the hands of men, while also making the particular documentary about their efforts, is definitely one of those films, as the result is as meta as it is shocking.
While the consequences of war in Syria are known throughout the world, the misogyny and overall violence against women, both domestically and in the workplaces, is not something that is exactly discussed. Five young women, Farah, Eliana, Inana, Souhir, and Grace come together to highlight the issue through a stage play, despite the fact that they realize the problems this will cause for them both to get work and with their families. Actually, the first part of the movie, under Heba Khaled‘s narration which is heard throughout the movie, focuses on both the testimonies of the women the group interviews and the issues they face trying to proceed with their project.
As they visit a center for deaf and mute women, a mental hospital for women, and various workplaces, the stories that come out are truly chilling to listen to. Beatings, rapings, blackmails, imprisonments, occasionally even violence towards their children in the hands of husbands, brothers, fathers, employers, all paint the way the patriarchy works in the darkest colors, but also in the subtle way it creeps even within families whose members love and care for each other.
The discussions of the group and the whole way the film was shot, by exiled Syrian filmmakers Heba Khaled and Talal Derki, along with Ali Wajeeh on the ground in Damascus, also takes a significant part of the documentary, and is also the one that deems the movie “stranger than life”. It is not just that one member eventually drops out, unnerving the rest, but also in the way they find themselves victims of abuse from someone they never expected to, which also causes significant complications for the production of the movie.
The way Marion Tuor’s edits all the aforementioned elements, highlighting both the main issue and the story behind the film, is exquisite, in one of the best aspects of the movie. The same artistry applies to Raed Sandeed’s cinematography, with the occasional long shots during the interviews with various victims being quite artful, while also having a contextual meaning showing how these women do not want to be revealed. In contrast, the many close ups when the camera is turned to the girls of the troupe, create a rather pleasant antithesis here, in an overall great atmosphere that is also heightened by the imposing voice of the narration.
“Under the Sky of Damascus” is a great documentary, a testament to the quality and the impact of the medium, and a movie that truly deserved the International Competition Golden Alexander award it won in Thessaloniki, which also secured its place in the selection shortlist for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
