Aleppo. Notes from the Dark shows an agony of the city, once - the largest one in Syria, now turned into rubble and abandoned of life.
The film shows the life of Aleppo from the perspective of seven of its residents, struggling with the hardships of war. Next to exploding bombs, under sniper fire, the characters in the film talk about the revolution and their own dreams. A social journalist, a street vendor, a cleric, an entrepreneur, a doctor from a field hospital, a shopkeeper - ordinary people with dreams of freedom. Situations from the front lines are interspersed with Quran study in moments of relaxation...—anonymous
Janine Di Giovanni, Middle East Editor, Newsweek: Aleppo. Notes from the Dark" is a rare chance to glimpse what the horror of life inside Syria is like. Watching it is imperative to understand the situation on the ground, and why we can not abandon Syria. Tara Judah, film critic: Though it hasn't made an investigative journalist of me or even a supremely vigilant activist, it has changed me as a film critic, which is more than I could ever have imagined any film could do. Francesca Borri and Stanley Greene, founding member of Noor Images: [...} Its camera points at ordinary Syrians - Syrians who see no difference between Sunnis and Shia, Muslims and Christians, but only between freedom and oppression. [...] Prof. Joshua Landis, author of Syria Comment and Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma: "Aleppo. Notes from the dark" is a terrifying journey into the heart of the Syrian war. Zeina Khodr, correspondent, Al Jazeera International: It is real. This film reflects the daily realities and hardships of those living in rebel held areas of Aleppo city. There was a lot of thought in the choice of characters - each had a role in what we saw was a dangerous vacuum where people are left to fend for themselves. This film documents how society has been torn apart from war. But it also shows how society is pulling together to survive.—Studio Szumowski
The film depicts the everyday life of Aleppo viewed from the perspective of six of its residents, struggling with the hardships of war in areas controlled by the opposition. Journalist Aleppo Media Center documents the image of the terrible situation in the city. Muslim cleric tries to help neighbors affected by the war. Doctor one of the field hospitals, a former Syrian officer wounded fighting for his life. The other three characters pose regime armed resistance. It rebel Free Syrian Army fighting in Old Town and the commander of the Popular Front Center, supervising Karaj al Hajis, the only passage between the areas under the control regime and the opposition. The last of the characters is the commander of the brigade soldiers radical Islamic associated in defined as terrorist grouping.
Aleppo. Notes from the Dark is a searing look at war's brutality. This documentary shows an agony of the city, once - the largest one in Syria, now turned into rubble and abandoned of life. Since the time it had been filmed, Aleppo. Notes from the Dark became a historical record of life and death during 44 days of open warfare. The dead lie among the rubble, the streets are alive with crossfire. What the media don't show is that these snipers, Jihadists, grenade slingers, and rifle-waving freedom fighters all have former lives - selling vegetables, repairing refrigerators, and trading women's clothing. From the tragic to the mundane, this powerful doc gives Syrians space to tell their own stories. It is a unique record of the life of a city at war. Unique to the fullest. "Aleppo. Notes from the dark" reveals the truth silenced in global discourse. Syrians who know the film say: "finally someone have brought out the truth".
