Still from The White Helmets
Screenings

The White Helmets

  • This is a past program

Copresented with the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies

The "White Helmets," a self-styled civil defense force, are often the first and only rescuers on the front lines in Syria’s ongoing brutal civil war. They have saved more than 18,000 lives and have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Oscar-nominated© filmmakers Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara’s short documentary dives into the rubble with these everyday heroes, showing stories of compassion and bravery alongside devastating footage from the war zones.

Set in Aleppo, Syria and in Turkey in early 2016, the film follows three volunteer rescue workers as they put everything on the line to save civilians affected by the war, all the while wracked with worry about the safety of their own loved ones. Moving and inspiring, The White Helmets is both a snapshot of the harrowing realities of life for ordinary Syrians who remain in the country, and a humbling portrait of the power of the human spirit. The White Helmets is a Netflix original short documentary. (2016, dir. Orlando von Einsiedel, 41 min.)

The screening is followed by a panel discussion with UCLA Professor of History James Gelvin

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