Last Men in Aleppo

Documentary Award Winner - 2017 MSPIFF

Nowhere is the human toll of Syria’s ongoing civil war more brutally manifest than in the lives of Aleppo’s “White Helmets”—first responders to the devastating bombing and terrorist attacks that have pushed this city to the brink of collapse. Volunteers Khaled, Mahmoud, and Subhi rush toward bomb sites while others run away. They search through collapsed buildings for the living and dead. Contending with fatigue, dwindling ranks, and concerns for their families’ safety, they must decide whether to stay or to flee a city in ruins.

An unforgettable portrait of reluctant heroes, Last Men in Aleppo employs a strict vérité approach but unfolds like a classical tragedy. Directed by Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad in collaboration with the Aleppo Media Center, it’s a patchwork of resonant moments—some horrifying (pulling lifeless infants from the rubble), others improbably hopeful (playing a makeshift soccer game, building a fishpond, driving kids to a playground during a ceasefire). Together they are a testament to mankind’s capacity for unspeakable atrocity and an ode to courage and compassion. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Director’s Biography

Feras Fayyad: Feras Fayyad has a degree from the École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation, France, and is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, and radio producer. Last Men in Aleppo is his debut feature documentary.