For Sama
A mother’s filmed letter to her daughter transforms five years of life, love, and impossible choices inside besieged Aleppo into an unforgettable act of witness.
Overview
A poignant exploration of love and resilience amidst the chaos of war.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- harrowing
- intimate
- mournful
- serious viewing
- documentary night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an intimate, formally powerful, and emotionally devastating account of civilian life during the Syrian war.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Waad al-Kateab films her own life, family, activism, and the bombardment of Aleppo from within the uprising.
Waad addresses the film to her daughter Sama, turning intimate memories into a record of war and survival.
The film centers Waad’s experience as an activist, partner, mother, and filmmaker during the Syrian conflict.
Love, marriage, childbirth, and parenting unfold alongside airstrikes, hospital emergencies, and siege conditions in Aleppo.
Films like For Sama, and why
The Cave
intimate first-person war documentary combining personal testimony, family life, and direct footage of civilian survival
5 Broken Cameras
female-centered documentary witness to conflict, displacement, and the resilience of civilians under bombardment
Last Men in Aleppo
emotionally devastating observational documentary about ordinary people enduring the consequences of armed conflict
The Look of Silence
personal archival testimony transforming political upheaval and violent repression into intimate human drama
Movie Details
- Directors
- Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
- Release Date
- 2019-07-26
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 8.2 / 10 (319)
Cast
- Sama Al-Khateab
- Hamza Al-Khateab
- Waad al-Kateab
Common questions
- What is For Sama about?
- A mother’s filmed letter to her daughter transforms five years of life, love, and impossible choices inside besieged Aleppo into an unforgettable act of witness.
- What is For Sama like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of For Sama as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is For Sama violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in For Sama as graphic.
- What did critics think of For Sama?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an intimate, formally powerful, and emotionally devastating account of civilian life during the Syrian war.
- Which films are like For Sama?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cave, 5 Broken Cameras, Last Men in Aleppo, and The Look of Silence.
- How long is For Sama?
- For Sama runs 100 minutes.
