9 DAYS – FROM MY WINDOW IN ALEPPO

Synopsis

One morning in August 2012, renowned Syrian photographer Issa Touma saw young men lugging sandbags into his street. It turned out to be the start of the Syrian uprising in the city of Aleppo. Touma grabbed his camera and spent nine days holed up in his apartment, recording what was happening outside. The result? An unprecedented glimpse into a war that has been raging for three years now.

Biography

Floor van der Meulen
Floor van der Meulen (born in 1989) studied Audiovisual Design at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam and graduaded in 2012. Her graduation film YOU & I (Jij & Ik) was shown on multiple festivals in Europe. In 2014 she made her international debut as a documentary filmmaker with STORMING PARADISE (Paradijsbestormers) which premiered at DokLeipzig.

Thomas Vroege
Thomas Vroege (1988) graduated from Sint Joost Academy of Arts with the short documentary film THE SON & THE STRANGER which won a 'WILDCARD' award from The Netherlands Filmfund. He made the poetic documentary SO HELP ME GOD (2015) and worked as an editor for the documentary film installation Oil & Paradise by Ad Nuis.

9 DAYS is a collaboration between them both and Syrian photographer Issa Touma. In 1996 he established Le Pont, a gallery and workshop for photography. In 1997 he started the International Photography Festival Aleppo. His work can be found in international collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Filmographies:
Floor van der Meulen:
2016 - IN VRIJHEID, TV
2014 - STORMING PARADISE, doc
2012 - YOU & I, short

Thomas Vroege:
2015 - SO HELP ME GOD, short
2014 - THE SON & THE STRANGER