Red and Black

Due to the devastating war in Syria, many people, including families with children, set out to leave their homeland and seek refuge in Europe. Along the way, they faced immense dangers. Many drowned at sea while crossing on rafts, lost their way in forests, or were captured by human traffickers. Yet, they had no choice: they had to flee to escape death, arrest, and repression by the Syrian regime.

I was one of those who took on these dangers and documented and photographed the plight of refugees fleeing from Turkey to EU countries. I was particularly moved by the suffering of the children. In 2015 and 2016, the EU borders were closed to refugees, forcing them to stay temporarily in surrounding countries like Serbia and Macedonia.

In one of the refugee camps in Serbia, I organized several art and theater workshops for children, aiming to make their lives in the camp, marked by fear and hopelessness, more bearable. During these workshops, I encouraged children to talk about their memories of the war, the escape, their fears, and their dreams.

Through the children’s drawings, the film portrays their personal stories and their hope for a life of safety. Individual scenes transform into paintings by famous artists, artistically depicting the horrors of war. The film also shows the various phases of the Syrian revolution, which began with peaceful mass demonstrations against the ruling dictator Assad and escalated into a bloody confrontation with the Syrian regime—a confrontation marked by massacres of regime opponents and widespread destruction.

The film "Red Black" depicts the suffering of children affected by war and seeks to raise viewers' awareness of the horrific consequences of wars, in the hope that more people will advocate for an end to ongoing conflicts and a commitment to world peace.