As We Cross To The Other Side Of The Garden

syno

psis

When the war on the streets of Damascus ended in late 2018, life seemed to return to normal, and a generation hoped for change and a better future. But reality soon shattered this dream as the economy collapsed, prices soared, jobs vanished, and people struggled to survive. After eight years of war, constant danger, and seeing friends and family emigrate, people stopped caring. They lived day by day, with no future plans, just surviving, loving, dancing, crying, and finding moments of joy.

Director's

bio

Ameen Abo Kaseem is a Palestinian-Syrian documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Beirut. He graduated in Visual Arts from the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts in Syria in 2023 and is now a member of the Al-Ayoun collective, ADPP, Magnum Foundation, and Prince Claus Fund. His work explores personal surroundings and survival amidst societal challenges and unstable environments. By reflecting on the long-lasting crises in the region that impact individuals, he sheds light on how these issues create toxic lifestyles. In 2023, he won the POY Asia for his first project, How was everything before all this ruin? and received a grant from Ettijahat for his second project, My Short-Term Memory.