PEABODY AWARD AMNESTY AWARD - Durban International | BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY - Carthage JCC | AUDIENCE AWARD TOP 10 FILMS - Hot Docs | BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY NOMINEE - Canadian Academy Awards | ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY AWARD NOMINEE - Directors Guild Awards | OFFICIAL ENTRY BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY OSCARS 2024
Refugees • Women • Middle East • Syria • Lebanon • Migrant Workers • Farming • Civil War • Food Security
Date of Completion: 2022 | Run Time: 126 minutes | Language: Arabic, Armenian & English with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Noura Kevorkian | Producers: Paul Scherzer & Noura Kevorkian | Camera: Noura Kevorkian |
Editors: Noura Kevorkian & Mike Munn
With over 13 million displaced, the Syrian Refugee Crisis remains the largest human forced migration crisis of our times. Shot over an unparalleled 10 years, Syrian-Lebanese director Noura Kevorkian’s intimate camera follows the plight of Maria and her family of Syrian migrant workers who find themselves unable to return back to their hometown of Raqqa Syria. Unique among the numerous refugee stories to date, the Peabody and Amnesty Award winning film BATATA captures an entire decade while documenting not just the age-old conflict between two nations, but the unbending spirit of a woman who puts family ahead of all else.
Marc Glassman | Editor, POV Magazine
“Kevorkian’s eye for human interaction, and particularly between children, is remarkable… An extraordinary film.”
Tara de Boer | NOW Toronto
“Kevorkian seeks to open the eyes of her audiences to life beyond their own realities.”
Matt Galloway | CBC The Current
“A beautiful film, and really powerful."
AWARDS
Peabody Award | Peabody Carthage (JCC)
Best Feature Documentary | Durban International Film Festival
Amnesty Award | Hot Docs
Audience Award Top 10 Films | Canadian Academy Awards
Best Feature Documentary, Nominee | Directors Guild of Canada
Amnesty Award Nominee | Thessaloniki Film Festival
Best Feature Documentary Official Entry | Oscars 2024
Human Rights Award | Carthage Film Festival
Jury Award, Feature Competition | Malmö Arab Film Festival
Directors Guild Special Jury Prize, Honorable Mention | Hot Docs
Best International Documentary, Special Mention | Durban International Film Festival
Best Editing in a Feature Documentary, Nominee | CSA Canadian Academy Awards
Best Cinematography in a Feature Documentary, Nominee | CSA Canadian Academy Awards
FESTIVALS
FIPADOC, France
It‘s All True/É Tudo Verdade, Brazil
DOK.fest München, Germany
Filmfestival Kitzbühel, Austria
Terraviva Film Festival, Italy
Man in Danger Media Festival, Poland
Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland
Doc Edge Festival, New Zealand
Antenna Documentary Film Festival, Australia