Return to Homs

Return to Homs

Thursday, June 4, 2015 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm
  • Library Hall

A film by Talal Derki

Winner of the first George Polk Documentary Film Award and the Sundance 2014 World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary

Filmed over three years in Homs, Syria, the film accompanies two outstanding young men from the time they are dreaming of freedom and defending pacifism, to the time when choices are forced to be different. It is the story of a city, which the world heard of a lot, but never really got close to. Return to Homs is a modern times epic of youth in war, and of forced choices.

War changes people, including 19-year-old Basset Saroot, who went from star goalkeeper for the Syrian national soccer team to peaceful advocate for Arab Spring reforms to armed insurgent. The film, which focuses on Basset and his ragtag group's transformation and struggles, is a heart-stopping, often wrenching study of the brutal war President Bashar al-Assad's regime has waged against the Syrian people — a war fought mostly out of camera range that has produced epic heroism and tragedy. It is an unprecedented view inside a conflict that many accuse the world of overlooking.

 

Run time:  94 min.

This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning nonfiction film series.

About POV
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 300 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues. POV films have won every major film and broadcasting award including 32 Emmys, 15 George Foster Peabody Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Broadcast Journalism Awards, three Academy Awards and the Prix Italia.