٣٣٥٠ كم

France, Syria

Documentary/experimental

Father and daughter have been separated by 3,350 kilometres for seven years. He lives in Syria, she lives in exile. All they have left is to talk on the internet.

Written & directed by: Sara Kontar
Produced by: Sara Kontar
Cinematography: Sara Kontar
Editing: Laure Despres-Khatib
Sound: Rita Mahmoud

Statement of the director:
From my room in Paris, in exile, after spending seven years away from my home in Syria, far from my father who remains alone with the ghosts of the past and the lost future – as he always tells me – I began recording our phone conversations over the internet.

Through these often-interrupted exchanges, he tells me about the situation in the country, his daily life from which I am distant, his solitude, his pain, and his feelings. I film the screen that both brings us closer and separates us, this pixelated frame that represents my only window of communication. Among the specks of dust, I discern my erased memories that fade a little more each day, my life from which I have been cut off, and my country, to which I cannot return.

This film is a short documentary, but also a brief and personal investigation into the Syrian experience and the relationship between exile and homeland, between my father and me, the stranger abroad and the stranger within. All that connects us is a choppy sound through which we try to be together.

Production:
Sara Kontar
https://sarakontar.com/

Selected at Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg