Greetings From Aleppo

A film by &

the Netherlands, Syria | 17' | 01/2017 | documentary

Greetings From Aleppo reveals how little the news about Syria corresponds with the experiences of everyday life. Photographer Issa Touma keeps away from bold declarations; he films life, the inconsistencies and perseverance as they reveal themselves in front of his camera. War is tragic and absurd. Surviving is often highly surreal and touching in this warn-torn city.

Issa Touma

Biography

Issa Touma is a photographer based in Aleppo (Syria). In 1996 he established Le Pont, a gallery and workshop for photography. In 1997 he started the Interna- tional Photography Festival Aleppo. His work can be found in international collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Filmography

  • 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo (2015)
  • Greetings from Aleppo (2017)
Square Eyes -

Thomas Vroege

Biography & Filmography

Thomas Vroege (Rotterdam, 1988) is a filmmaker based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He graduated from Sint Joost Academy of Arts with the short documentary film The Son & The Stranger which won a WILDCARD award from The Netherlands Filmfund. His film So Help Me God is a poetic documentary journey through the financial industry and will premiere at the Dutch Filmfestival in September 2015. Vroege worked as an editor for the documentary film installation Oil & Paradise by Ad Nuis. 9 Days is a short documentary about the start of the Syrian uprising in the city of Aleppo, made in collaboration with colleague film maker Floor van der Meulen and the Syrian photographer Issa Touma. Since 2012, Vroege is an advisor for the Dutch Cultural Media Fund. In 2013 he was an advisor for the Dutch Filmfestival for the selection of documentary films.

  • 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo (2015)
  • Greetings from Aleppo (2017)
  • A Stranger Came to Town (2017)
Square Eyes - Director - Thomas Vroege - Square Eyes

Floor van der Meulen

Biography & Filmography

In 2012, Floor graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy. After graduation she worked as an assistant director for documentary filmmaker Klaartje Qurijns and other Dutch film directors. She worked on video art related projects and developed the short documentary Bekerrapers (The Cup Collectors) with production company KeyDocs. In 2014 she made her international debut as a documentary filmmaker with Paradijsbestormers (Storming Paradise) in collaboration with production company KeyDocs and BNN. In 2015, together with Syrian artist Issa Touma and Dutch co-director Thomas Vroege, she made the international acclaimed short documentary 9 Days – From My Window In Aleppo. This short documentary was shown on film festivals around the world and won the European Film Award for best short 2016. In 2016 she also made here debut as a fiction director with In Vrijheid (In Exile) which was nominated for a the Dutch Golden Calfs Best Television Drama and won Best Actress. Together again with Issa Touma and Thomas Vroege, she made a follow-up story on life in Aleppo: Greetings from Aleppo.

Today she works on the feature length documentary Last Male Standing and is developing her first fiction feature.

  • Paradijsbestormers / Storming Paradise (2014)
  • You&I (2012)
  • 9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo (2015)
  • In Vrijheid / In Exile (2016)
  • Greetings from Aleppo (2017)
Square Eyes -

Crew

Director: Issa Touma, Thomas Vroege, Floor van der Meulen
Cinematographer: Issa Touma
Narration: Issa Touma
Storyline: Thomas Vroege, Floor van der Meulen
Editor: Thomas Vroege, Floor van der Meulen
Sound mix: Tom Jansen
Composer: Darius Timmer
Producer: Jos De Putter, Bas Vroege
Produced by: Deep Focus Web Docs. Paradox
Production assistance: Veronica Daltri
Translations: Susan Osman, Herman Te Loo

Festivals

  • International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Netherlands (25 January – 5 February, 2017)
    As Short As It Takes
  • Vilnius International Film Festival, Lithuania (23 March – 6 April, 2017)
    Official Short Selection
  • Movies That Matter, the Netherlands (24 March – 1 April, 2017)
    Out of competition: Go Short x Movies That Matter
  • Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, the Netherlands (5 – 9 April, 2017)
    Out of competition: Go Short x Movies That Matter
  • Kyiv International Short Film Festival, Ukraine (19 – 23 April, 2017)
    International Competition
  • DOCUMENTAMADRID, Spain (4 – 14 May, 2017)
    International Competition
  • DocuTIFF – Tirana International Documentary Film Festival, Albania (10 – 17 May, 2017)
    Short Documentary Competition
  • NexT International Film Festival, Romania (22 – 26 June, 2017)
    Out of competition: political program
  • DIG Festival, Italy (23 – 25 June, 2017)
    Reportage Medium Competition Won: DIG Award for Best Reportage Medium
  • Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival, Portugal (8 – 16 July, 2017)
    International Competition
  • Kinemastik International Short Film Festival, Malta (27 – 30 July, 2017)
    Official Competition
  • Open Air Filmfest Weiterstadt, Germany (10 – 14 August, 2017)
    Official Selection
  • Mediterranean Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina (23 – 26 August, 2017)
    Official Competition
  • Quebec City Film Festival, Canada (13 – 23 September, 2017)
    International Short Film Competition
  • Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival, United Kingdom (19 – 24 September, 2017)
    International Competition
  • Nederlands Film Festival, Netherlands (20 – 29 September, 2017)
    Gouden Kalf Competition
  • DTLA Film Festival, United States (21 – 30 September, 2017)
    Official Selection
  • Heart of Gold International Film Festival, Australia (5 – 8 October, 2017)
    Official Selection
  • Sedicicorto International Film Festival, Italy (6 – 15 October, 2017)
    International competition
  • Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, Egypt (7 – 12 October, 2017)
    Short Film Competition
  • IndieCork Festival, Ireland (8 – 15 October, 2017)
    International Competition
  • Film Fest Gent, Belgium (10 – 20 October, 2017)
    Official Selection
  • International Short Film Festival of Cyprus, Cyprus (14 – 21 October, 2017)
    International Competition
  • DOK Leipzig – International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, Germany (30 October – 5 November, 2017)
    International Programme
  • Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema, Brazil (8 – 15 November, 2017)
    International Competition
  • Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, Germany (15 – 19 November, 2017)
    Official Selection
  • International Bosphorus Film Festival, Turkey (17 – 26 November, 2017)
    International Short Documentary Film Competition
  • China International New Media Short Film Festival, China (25 November – 2 December, 2017)
    International Competition
  • Festival Tous Courts, France (27 November – 2 December, 2017)
    International Short Film Competition
  • Verín International Short Film Festival, Spain (1 – 10 December, 2017)
    Offical Competition
  • REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, Canada (14 – 18 March, 2018)
    Official Competition
  • Glasgow Short Film Festival, United Kingdom (14 – 18 March, 2018)
    International Competition
  • Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg, Germany (14 – 21 March, 2018)
    International Competition
  • Mecal Pro, International Short Film and Animation Festival, Spain (15 March – 2 April 2018)
    International Competition
  • Fribourg International Film Festival, Switzerland (16 – 24 March, 2018)
    International Short Film Competition
  • Valencia International Film Festival Cinema Jove, Spain (22 – 29 June, 2018)
    Short Film Competition
  • Arab Cinema Festival, France (28 June – 8 July, 2018)
    Official Selection
  • WARM Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina (27 – 30 June, 2018)
  • Festival International du Film des Droits de l’Homme de Guadeloupe, France (12 – 19 October, 2018)
    Official Selection
  • dokumentART, European Film Festival, Germany (17 – 21 October, 2018)
    European Competition
  • Kurzfilmfestival Kufstein, Germany (21 – 22 November, 2018)
    International Competition
  • Asia Peace Film Festival, India (11 – 13 December, 2018)
    Competition