Syria's Historic Oscar Return

Syria Submits Saydnaya Prison Documentary as Its First Oscar Entry Since Fall of Assad

Tawfik Sabouni's documentary “The Other Side of the Sun’ has been selected by Syria for the 2027 Academy Awards, marking the country's first Oscar candidate since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December 2024. The film, which premiered at the Berlinale and premiered internationally, explores the experience of imprisonment in Saydnaya Prison, one of the most prominent detention sites associated with Syria’�s recent history and collective memory during the previous decades of rule. The selection was announced by Syria‘s General Organization for Cinema and marks the first selection made by Syria's newly formed committee accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). New York-based Icarus Films has acquired U.S. rights to the film.

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