Baladna Alraheeb

OUR TERRIBLE COUNTRY portrays the perilous journey of intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh and young photographer Ziad Homsi through Syria, at a time when the country edges towards the brink.
Yassin (53), who spent 16 years in prison for belonging to the Syrian left, goes underground in 2011 to serve Syria’s popular uprising, while Ziad (24) – occasionally fighting with the rebels – takes photographs in his hometown Douma. In this Damascene suburb – where yassin and his wife Samira Khalil found shelter – the two men meet and become friends.
Together, they embark on an adventurous journey through the desert to al-Haj Saleh’s native town Raqqa in Northeast Syria. Upon their arrival, Raqqa is occupied by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIS), which also kidnapped two brothers of Yassin.
Consequently, Yassin leaves for Istanbul to pursue his writing for the revolution, hoping for a reunion with his wife Samira who remained in Douma. Ziad – abducted by ISIS on his way back – rejoins Yassin after his release, hoping to return home soon.

In the presence of Mohammad Ali Atassi.