Cate Blanchett masterminds short film collection that brims with life and intensity... The horror of war in Syria and the subsequent ordeal of boredom in a refugee hotel in London is the subject of Allies in Exile, by the Syrian directors Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi; juxtaposing footage shot on iPhone in the hotel, which at one stage is surrounded by anti-refugee protesters, with terrifying footage shot years before in the ruins of Aleppo. The film focuses on the poignant friendship between Kattan and Al-Halabi (also the camera operator), whose own personal loss is all but unbearable...
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Guardian
Allies In Exile
About
For 14 years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have journeyed together through war and storytelling. Their bond was forged on the frontlines of revolution where their cameras recorded terror and hope, laughter and heartbreak – moments that defined a generation.
Years later, their story takes an unexpected turn. Confined inside a UK asylum hotel, Hasan and Fadi document a new chapter shaped not by bombs, but by waiting, bureaucracy, and exile. Amid rising anti-refugee hostility, they turn the camera inward exploring friendship and displacement and how filming itself becomes an act of survival when the future is so uncertain.
The Reviews
Longlist One World Media Awards Refugee Reporting
The Cycle of Love
Orlando von Einsiedel