City of Ghosts

One World Festival

The film is a raw depiction of the atrocities committed in Syria as seen through the eyes of civilian journalists Hamoud and Hassan, who, despite brutal repression, bring information about a heavily beleaguered city to the outside world.

The terrorist Islamic State organization occupied Raqqa in 2014 and made this city their headquarters in Syria. Hamoud, his brother Hassan, and other journalists from the activist group known as “ Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” risk their own lives to uncover the crimes committed by terrorists and disprove their propaganda. When Islamic State partly uncovers their network, Hamoud and Hassan must leave their hometown. However, they remain connected with their sources in Raqqa and continue to inform the world about life in the city. They gain international recognition for their work, but they are not safe even in exile. The film was featured at the Sundance 2017 festival and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sheffield Festival.