by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts (UK 2019)

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. FOR SAMA was awarded the Prix L’Œil d’Or for Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Further selected awards include the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival, the Special Jury Prize for International Feature Documentary at Hot Docs, the Audience Award at Sheffield Doc/fest and Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. Oscar 2020 nomination – Best Feature Documentary.

“I cannot recommend RCS highly enough. They took a look at our film when we thought we’d finished everything. Their notes were brilliant and helped us to see with new eyes where we could really push the emotion and clarity of the cut. Their insights lifted the film to another level.”
Edward Watts, director.