Preview Screening: Syria – Across the Lines

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Olly Lambert

The fertile plains of the Orontes River in rural Idlib used to be a place of peaceful coexistence for Syria’s many sects and religions. Today, the river marks a sectarian frontline: on one side, the Free Syrian Army holds ground in Sunni villages whose residents are calling for the fall of the regime. Only 2km away, Alawite villagers remain fiercely loyal to the government, and gladly host army checkpoints that fire shells and mortars into the Sunni villages across the valley on a daily basis.

As the Syrian conflict enters its third year, this documentary offers a shocking window on its increasingly sectarian nature. For five weeks, award winning documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert lived on both sides of this frontline: living with Alawite loyalists and government supporters on one side, as well as the FSA and Sunni refugees on the other.

In Syria – Across the Lines Lambert documents a graphic and unflinching portrait of a society cleaving apart in the face of dwindling international support, escalating violence and a growing mutual desire for revenge.

Directed by Olly Lambert
Duration: 52′
Year: 2013