The Photographer
Fall Grants 2021 - Development Stage
Anas Khalaf / Feature Narrative / Syria, Germany, Qatar / 100 min / Original Language: Arabic, English, German / Interests: Thriller, Politics
Synopsis
Maher, a photographer for the Syrian regime, takes photos of deceased military personnel. The revolution begins, he is transferred and now takes photos of civilians murdered by the government for demonstrating. He works under the supervision of the infamous General Ali. After accumulating over 50,000 photos, and with the help of famous actor turned activist Moneeb, Maher defects and smuggles out the precious evidence against the regime. In Washington DC, with the help of Aya, an activist, and his childhood love, they present the evidence to the White House and Congress for action against Al Assad, in vain. Another effort with the French at the UN for a resolution to bring the regime to the International Criminal Court fails as well. Maher’s journey ends in Germany where Ali, who sought refugee status under a false identity, is recognized by one of his victims and is brought to justice to be the first war criminal from Syria to go on trial.
Credits
- Director
- Anas Khalaf
- Screenwriter
- Anas Khalaf
- Producer
- Ossama Bawardi, Nicole Gerhards
- Production Company
- Philistine Films
About the Director
Anas Khalaf is a Syrian-French filmmaker who currently lives in Doha, Qatar—having left Damascus with his family in 2012 due to the Syrian conflict. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Normandy Business School in France. He and his wife, Rana Kazkaz, co-founded the production company Synéastes Films in 2010. Together they have co-directed four short films, the last of which was the multi-awarded 'Mare Nostrum' in 2017 and one feature film, 'The Translator' (TIFF and Tallinn in 2020). Anas is currently developing two feature films as writer/director, 'The Photographer' and 'Love-45'. Anas also has an acting career, having played in feature films ('Degradé', 'The Translator') as well as in TV Series ('The Bureau', 'Crisis Cell').