5 SEASONS OF REVOLUTION

Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition 2023 | 95min | 2K & 5.1 | Arabic, English | Germany, Syria, Norway, The Netherlands, Qatar

An aspiring video journalist in her twenties who finds herself already facing self-reckoning. Born in Damascus, Syria, Lina starts to report on the events around her until she is compelled to become a war reporter and, later, the unexpected narrator of her own destiny.

“A Powerful Testament to the Impossible Work of Reporting
Your Own Country’s Implosion"

— The Playlist

"5 Seasons of Revolution Portrays Humanity Wrapped Up in Revolt"

— The Film Stage

“ Om meerdere redenen is 5 Seasons of a Revolution de meest fascinerende film die je deze maand in de bioscopen kunt zien.”

— Filmkrant

FILM TEAM

director LINA
co-writer LINA and DIANA EL JEIROUDI
editing DIANA EL JEIROUDI and BARBARA TOENNIESHEN
camera LINA
sound editing OLMO VAN STRAALEN, FRANCO VAN DER LINDE
sound design and mixing MARK GLYNNE, TOM BIJNEN
line producers EVA-MARIA WEERTS, GUEVARA NAMER
producer DIANA EL JEIROUDI
co-producers ORWA NYRABIA, TORSTEIN GRUDE, ILJA ROOMANS, LINA executive producer LAURA POITRAS
associate producers NICK SHUMAKER and JESSICA GRIMSHAW

a production of NO NATION FILMS
in co-production with PIRAYA FILMS and DOCMAKERS
in association with ANONYMOUS CONTENT and PROACTION FILM

supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Doha Film Institute, The Netherlands Film Fund, Mediefondet Zefyr, IDFA Bertha Fund, Sanad, International Media Support, Fritt Ord, InMaat Productions, Filmkraft Rogaland, Bergesenstiftelsen, Heinrich Boell Foundation

fiscal sponsorship provided by The International Documentary Association

SYNOPSIS

Young independent filmmaker and reporter Lina goes underground to document the Syrian revolution, adopting a series of aliases to avoid detection from the violent state. In Damascus, she is Lina, one of the many of the silent passer-bys, but in Homs, she is Maya the war reporter and in Aleppo, she is Lama.

In her debut, 5 Seasons of Revolution, Lina uses video diaries of smuggled footage and memoir to share this personal story of her close group of friends - Susu, Rima, Malaz, and Bassel - as they are slowly pulled deeper into the struggle for freedom and autonomy against enemies known and unknown. One by one, they are detained and targeted by the regime and Lina ends up alone and isolated amidst the violence and chaos. She continues filming to find clarity.

Months transform into years, and Lina - aka Maya aka Layla aka Lama - returns over and over again to the frontlines to witness the regime’s brutal crackdown and see her country morph into a staging ground of global proxy wars. When Lina is detained and held captive in Aleppo, she witnesses unspeakable suffering and torture, and barely escapes.

Told over the course of a decade and against the backdrop of shifting historical forces, 5 Seasons of Revolution is Lina's story; the tale of becoming brave.