



Filmmaker Sean McAllister brings a poignant new documentary to London screens. A 'Bergmanesque portrait of a relationship and love', A Syrian Love Story is a complex depiction of family dynamics against a backdrop of relentless conflict.







When British journalist Sean McAllister arrived in Syria in 2009 on the hunt for a 'meaty' story – it didn't take long for him to find one. He soon met Amer, a Syrian Pakistani left at home caring for his children while his wife Raghda was held as a political prisoner.



Jailed for writing a book about her romance with Amer through the walls of a Syrian prison, their story begins as a powerful tale of forbidden love and revolution – the tragedy of a mother absent from her children and loving husband.



Yet after Raghda's release, as the pressure of the political climate increases, so do the daily struggles for the family as a whole. They're forced to flee to Lebanon, and McAllister's film develops into a portrait of the tragedy of exile for those who long to remain in the homeland.



McAllister follows the family across Europe for the next five years, interweaving intimate footage from his handheld camera with news reports on the burgeoning Syrian crisis. In some ways reminiscent of Jehane Noujaim's 2013 film The Square, McAllister's documentary is impressive in its use of personal, often mundane portraits to comment on the wider political crisis.

