For Sama

For Sama is an intimate feature documentary that takes the form of a letter from Waad al-Kateab, a 26-year-old Syrian mother, to her daughter Sama recorded in the last days of the battle for Aleppo. Waad lives with Sama's father, a doctor in the last surviving hospital in rebel-held Aleppo. Surrounded on all sides, bombarded daily by the Syrian regime and Russian air force, Waad fears they may be killed at any moment. So she crafts a filmed message to her one-year-old daughter to explain who her parents were, what they were fighting for and why Sama came into this world--a record for the young girl in case they do not survive. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as she wrestles with the impossible choice--to flee the city and protect her daughter or fight for their freedom.