“I was convinced that I had to do this film. Actually, I felt “under siege” on a personal level. It was difficult for me to acknowledge that I was outside Syria and that people kept being killed over there – and as I was witnessing the number of victims rise steadily, I watched my people’s expressions and their plea for freedom. When I say “my people”, I’m talking about the fountain of beauty I really saw among the Syrian youth who started the revolution..…
But what really set things off was the moment I saw the scene on YouTube where the teenager is arrested and tortured. This is my “primitive scene”. In this instance, the image serves as an archetype of violence, but also helps to spread violence. Actually, that scene found its way into the film and was one of the triggers of the Syrian revolution. When I got the first message from Simav, in Homs, I was in Paris and it was Christmas, and as I started reading her message, I found out that I was in fact reading high-end literature – a wonderful poem. This girl who was trying to make her first film was asking me, “If you were in my place, what would you do? Where would you begin?” (Oussama Mohammed)