The Return to Homs

In 2011, influenced by the wave of Arab Spring protests, the Syrian people took up the non-violent cause to change the authoritarian regime. The tough response of Bashar al-Assad's government troops launched a nationwide uprising that eventually led to civil war. In the chaotic situation, director Talal Derki began following the stories of two friends from the city of Homs who became the leaders of the rebel group. With the ongoing repression, the city turns into ruins before their eyes and these originally idealistic revolutionaries decide to take up arms. The film realistically records the escalating brutality of the war in Syria. The film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for the best documentary at Sundance in 2014. (One World)