For Sama is a documentary film shot by a Syrian woman who wanted to be a journalist. It is also the winner of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival’s Best Documentary Award. The documentary depicts the daily lives of the people of East Aleppo, a rebel (opposition) stronghold from 2012 to 2016, as it was gradually overrun by government forces, from the rebels’ perspective. However, there are almost no battle scenes. The film only depicts how ordinary people lived under the fire of war.

I had never imagined that there were children born on the battlefield until I saw this documentary. It made me realize that someone was living a normal everyday life even in a war zone. I thought that the extraordinary life of war might have become an everyday life for that child. I felt very sad that there are children who have not experienced peace. Adults have been placed in severe situations such as war and understand the severity of the situation. However, the child did not yet understand the situation and smiled innocently. I thought “For Sama” was very brave of her mother. I thought she was a person of action, as she had originally participated in the student movement. Running away or joining the revolution is not a bad thing. I thought that one has to make a choice based on one’s own beliefs.