Damascus Dreams follows a filmmaker’s journey to her inaccessible homeland as she composes a Syria that stands somewhere between reality and myth, dream and nightmare, past and present.
Émilie Serri was born in Canada. She had only visited Syria, her father’s country, a few times prior to the start of the civil war. Following her grandmother’s death, a desire grew within her to form a stronger connection to this country of which she knew so little. Serri studied old family photos and films, interviewed members of her family and other Syrians forced to flee their homeland, and in this documentary mixes her own memories with theirs. For some, Syria remains as alive and present as the scent of jasmine, while others’ memories have already faded. They don’t usually talk about it, wishing to spare their children the traumas of the past: “They must look to the future.”
Damascus Dreams is a record of a personal odyssey, yet this filmic essay also gives a broader view of the memories and dreams of the displaced. For people who had to leave so much behind, it sometimes seems easier to forget. In this way, Serri ties in the fate of refugees to her own dreamt homeland.
