Under The Sky Of Damascus

A group of young Syrian women create a play that highlights the violence of patriarchy within their society.

Farah, Eliana, Inana, Souhir and Grace live in war-torn Damascus. Together, they have decided to devise a play that explores the corrosiveness of patriarchal violence – gathering anonymous testimonies from Syrian women across a variety of social groups and generations. Taking over an abandoned building, which they transform into a creative hub and safe space, the women piece together a picture of widespread misogyny and gender violence. But they face resistance and obstacles from all fronts, including from within. Directed from their exile in Berlin by Heba Khaled and Talai Derki, along with Ali Wajeeh, Under the Sky of Damascus explores the deep legacy of patriarchy that women are all too frequently forced to accept, and raises questions regarding the power dynamics within the filmmaking environment.