For Sama is the story of filmmaker Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years in Aleppo, Syria, as she falls in love, gets married, and gives birth to Sama amid rising cataclysmic conflict. Waad’s camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter, and survival as she wrestles with an impossible decision: Should she flee the city to protect her daughter’s life or stay to continue the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much? This rare firsthand account of war from a woman’s perspective won the Best Documentary prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and at the SXSW Film Festival, and the Special Jury Prize for International Feature Documentary at the Hot Docs Festival.

Please note, this film contains graphic violence and imagery—viewer discretion is advised.