Charif Kiwan

Charif Kiwan is the spokesperson for the anonymous filmmaking collective known publicly as Abounaddara, who formed in 2010 and began posting short films weekly on Fridays in April 2011—one month after the start of large-scale demonstrations throughout Syria. The collective’s first post included a manifesto titled Que faire? (What to do?), which addressed the need to represent the reality on the ground in Syria while respecting human dignity. What was initially a close group of self-taught filmmakers in Damascus grew into a larger collective of anonymous and voluntary filmmakers that incorporates many voices and perspectives, telling the stories of Syrians living amid the social turmoil that has since become an ongoing civil war. Collectively sharing files online or smuggling flash drives with traveling friends, Abounaddara posts one video each week, working in what they call “emergency cinema” to highlight the urgency of the moment, the need to bear witness, and the importance of producing images that counter state television broadcasts.