New Syria-Set Docs ‘Cries From Syria,’ ‘City of Ghosts’ Showcase Heroes and Victims
Sundance 2017 Reviews: Two Syria-set documentaries from Oscar-nominated directors show different sides of an international tragedy
Steve Pond | April 7, 2017 @ 8:55 AM
Last Updated: April 7, 2017 @ 9:05 AM
"Cried From Syria" (Courtesy of Sundance)
It’s not unusual for film-festival movies to have some overlap in theme and approach, but “City of Ghosts” and “Cries From Syria,” both of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, have an extra measure of synchronicity.
Both films were made by Oscar nominees who competed against each other just last year with visceral, immersive documentaries — Matthew Heineman with “Cartel Land” and Evgeny Afineevsky with “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.” And the new movies by Heineman and Afineevsky are both set in today’s Syria, ravaged by ISIS, Russian bombs and the repressive Assad regime.
Heineman’s “City of Ghosts,” which will be released on Amazon Prime later this year, and Afineevsky “Cries From Syria,” which did the same a day later, aren’t even the only Syria-set docs at this year’s festival; “Last Men in Aleppo” premieres on Monday, and its subjects, the White Helmets or Syrian Defense League, are mentioned in both “City of Ghosts” and “Cries From Syria” (as well as the Oscar-shortlisted short doc “The White Helmets”).
The films are all extremely timely, with “City of Ghosts” taking on added resonance as the Trump administration has devoted much of its first weekend to criticizing journalists. The film follows the members of Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), journalists who have spent the last few years trying to document the repression and brutality in their home country.
Increasingly, they’ve had to do so from a distance — and even then, the act of reporting has put their lives in danger, with ISIS calling for the murder of reporters who are working from what they hoped would be the relative safety of Turkey or Germany.
Heineman, whose last film quite literally put him in the line of fire in Mexico’s drug wars, takes his cameras to the disparate locations from which the members of RBSS do their work. That work involves spreading the word about the horrors visited upon Syria by the corrupt Assad regime, by ISIS taking advantage of the chaos and by Russia sending in bombers, ostensibly to fight ISIS but in practice to kill thousands of civilians who might not support Assad.
We see some of the carnage — but “City of Ghosts” is focused not on the news, but on the people who risk everything to spread it. That makes it a less immersive and immediate piece of filmmaking than “Cartel Land,” though no less valuable. Heineman finds a fascinating perspective on the unfolding tragedy, and finds heroes in an unexpected place (and, for many people these days, an unexpected profession).
Afineevsky’s “Cries From Syria” does not so much look for heroes as show the awful face of tragedy. A warning might be in order: The doc, which debuted on HBO in March, might well be the hardest film to sit through in the Sundance lineup — not because it’s bad, but because it is so overwhelmingly sad.
The film opens with a shot of the corpse of a young boy, lying face-down on a Mediterranean beach after drowning when a boatload of Syrian refugees sank. It’s a gut punch in the first minute of the movie, impossible to shake.
And “Cries From Syria” doesn’t get any easier, because the footage Afineevsky has gathered and shot pulls no punches when it comes to depicting the awful toll that the fighting has taken on Syria’s citizens, and especially its children.
Afineevsky’s “Winter on Fire,” which dealt with the citizen protests that toppled Ukraine’s president, has moments of real triumph (though a postscript about Putin’s plans for the country was sobering). In “Cries From Syria,” victories are small and triumph is nowhere to be found; as the title suggests, this is a howl of pain from a ravaged land.
Truthfully, I’m not sure that I would say you should see “Cries From Syria”; the experience is, at times, that excruciating. But I can tell you that if you do see it, you won’t forget it.
“Cries From Syria” debuted in March on HBO; “City of Ghosts” will premiere on Amazon Prime later this year.
Sundance Scene: Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Kate Upton and More (Updating Photos)
Charlize Theron, Mary McCormack, and Chelsea Handler
Pink hats and post-march clothes dominated the sidewalk style scene on Saturday after a sea of activism filled Park City for the Women's March.
Here, the trio ducked in to the Hub at Park City Live, a sprawling hospitality lounge.
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Aisha Tyler
Tyler brightened Saturday's favorite uniform (the pink hat) with a jacket that echoed a famous refrain from UFC fighter Ronda Rousey: "Fight like a girl."
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Handler would end the day as many do: at TAO.
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Common
In town a few days ahead of his movie premiere, the rapper was a surprise performer at the second night of the popular pop up nightclub.
Vegas nightlife photography sorcerer Al Powers captured this pic, with event partner Don Julio's 1942 Magnum as the trophy that sat atop VIP tables.
Not pictured: Jeremy Renner, Aisha Tyler and Mary J. Blige, all on the scene.
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John Legend
Common's co-Oscar winner from two years ago for "Glory" made the rounds, stopping by this after-party and an event for his own WGN show "Underground" earlier in the night.
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Matt Damon, Marcus Samuelsson and Gary White
A seated lunch at Sundance? Yes.
On the busy opening Saturday afternoon, the trio sat at a "head table" while chalices of Stella Artois were raised by the crowd. The event promoted the film-friendly brew's commitment to Damon and White's Water.org clean water philanthropy.
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Jeremy Renner
From one Jason Bourne to another...
Renner was one of the many faces to pass through AT&T's Village at the Lift on Saturday (Jan. 21).
The space has become an industry sanctuary this weekend. With minimal red carpet and flashbulb bombast, the photo-free Nobu restaurant and the Jeffrey Best-created "Cabin" restaurant/bar has had the same socially sticky bass line of Soho House.
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Jack Huston and Tye Sheridan
Though it loosk like an introduction, these two star in "The Yellow Birds," a drama about soldiers in the Iraq War.
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Dave Bautista
The former professional fighter's dystopian "Bushwick" opened up the first night of Kia Supper Suite at Firewood on Main, The Party Report's festival partner.
With a line stretching down the street, the Kias pulled up to bring cast and filmmakers in to the space formerly known as Cisero's.
Jason Schwartzman and prolific producer Lauren Selig were both spotted having private dinners earlier there on Saturday.
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"Bushwick": Bautista and Brittany Snow
Inside the packed opening night event away from the slushy streets outside, Bautista and Brittany Snow warmed up in the VIP booths downstairs.
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The Breakout Actors of Sundance 2017
Meanwhile, photographer Jeff Vespa curated the breakout performances of Sundance for his annual "Verge" list, a print book photo portfolio.
At Saturday night's party at DirecTV's space: Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Harris Dickinson, Josh O'Connor, Haley Lu Richardson, Michelle Morgan and Danielle Macdonald.
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Vespa addresses the crowd at the traditionally an industry-heavy affair that proved as popular as ever in a new space that doubles as a cafe during the day.
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Michelle Morgan and Jeff Vespa
There is heat for "the next big things." Before it was over, the fire marshal had to "shut down the door" as a safety issue -- meaning, nobody could get access regardless of status.
Honored for "L.A. Times," Morgan was safely inside before the cutoff.
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The "Verge" scene.
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Tiësto
Meanwhile, up at Park City Live, Tiesto played an "open format" set for film "Before I Fall" and Gen-Z media powerhouse AwesomnessTV's party during Snow Fest.
Straying far from the four-four house thump, Tiesto pulled from all areas of pop music, weaving together Drake's "One Dance," MØ's "Final Song," Bieber's "Let Me Love You," Yeezus era Kanye, Twenty One Pilots' hit "Ride" and hip hop breakout 21 Savage alongside The Killers and his own hit "Red Lights." It was a musical #PotLuck.
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Justin Verlander and Kate Upton
At Tiesto's next door neighbor, Rock & Reilly's, we learned how it pays to be Kate Upton.
At a Golf Digest event with Conde Nast on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21), the supermodel revealed her first golf lesson came from the late great Arnold Palmer.
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Keanu Reeves, Mimi Kim and Brian Malarkey
Buffalo ranch octopus, steak and the one-time "Matrix" man were on the menu at the second night of ChefDance. We know Chef Malarkey from Herringbone at the Mondrian in L.A. and Searsucker in Vegas.
Jordan Kartchner
Christina Robinson
The former "Dexter" star passed through Debbie Durkin's EcoLuxe Lounge -- the sole survivor of the formerly thriving gifting suite industry.
In addition to providing "hangover, altitude and anti-aging IVs," the organizers focused on promoting their charity partner Shriners for Children Medical Center.
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Roxanne Shanté
The hip hop pioneer of the early 1980's (center), who fueled one of the first "rap wars," has a biopic debuting on Sunday, "Roxanne Roxanne," lifting the chorus of an early hit.
The team behind Sundance 2015 sensation "Dope," Pharrell Williams and Forest Whitaker produced the feature.
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Kate Micucci
Kate broke off from the roving ensemble of "The Little Hours" to hit The Hub at Park City Live on Saturday afternoon, a sprawling hospitality lounge with a climate change activation and a pop-up studio from Marie Claire magazine.
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Barry Rothbart
Rothbart stars with "Fargo" Season 1 breakout Allison Tolman in the series "Downward Dog," which premiered its first four episodes at Sundance.
But first... the Hub at Park City live for a photo set up by the nonprofit Cool Effect, a climate change advocacy group.
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Artist Bennett Slater and Morgan Spurlock
It's not all motion picture arts and sciences here in Park City. There's also visual arts. Documentarian Spurlock led an artists' panel at the Kimball Arts Center on Saturday afternoon.
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Fares Fares and 4K
Only weeks after throwing CES, the Consumer Technology Association set up an array of 4k TV's in a suite on Main Street to make a case to the content community: "Consumers want 4k. Make it."
In addition to VR -- which is everywhere at the festival -- the second biggest consumer technology distribution topic is 4K. "Directors love it," one of the CTA reps told The Party Report, while hinting that some actors were nervous about being able to see every pore on a face.
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Sundance 2017: Inside and backstage the best industry bashes at the Sundance Film Festival with The Party Report’s Mikey Glazer, presented by the Kia Niro.
Charlize Theron, Mary McCormack, and Chelsea Handler
Pink hats and post-march clothes dominated the sidewalk style scene on Saturday after a sea of activism filled Park City for the Women's March.
Here, the trio ducked in to the Hub at Park City Live, a sprawling hospitality lounge.