Aleppo: The Silence of the War

The many years of war have left large parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo completely devastated. The government has taken back control of the city and the mortars, rockets and guns have fallen quiet for now. All that remains are silent ruins. In static, well-composed shots, Aleppo: The Silence of the War shows us a ghost town. There’s no human life to be seen in this film. The powerful soundtrack of the wind blowing is broken only by the occasional birdsong. The absence of sounds we normally associate with the city - traffic noise, children playing, the background noise of radios and TVs - only heightens the sense of desolation in these images of destruction. All we see are rusty swings, car wrecks in the courtyard, a bus on its side, and collapsed buildings everywhere. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)