The Syrian film 'Photograph' raises a seemingly simple question, but deep in its essence, about what remains for a person when places change, days pass, and the details he thought were fixed fall away. Things do not give us our identity, but the memories we attach to them do.

The short fiction film toured several festivals. It recently won the 'Justice and Peace' award from the Middle East Film Festival in its ninth edition, held last June in The Hague, Netherlands.

'Photograph' sheds light on the repercussions of the war in Syria and its impact on child labor and depriving them of education to support their families financially. The film was produced by the Syrian General Organization for Cinema, screenplay and dialogue by Buthaina Naissa, starring Suleiman al-Ahmad, Ghalib Shandawiya, Jamal al-Ali, and Safouh Mimas, directed by Mohannad Kalthoum.

The film tells the story of two boys bound by a deep friendship, 'Sultan' and 'Yahya,' who wander through their city amid building rubble, remnants of furniture, and belongings that remain as witnesses to a life that was here and is no more, while they live in refugee camps. Sultan leads his blind friend Yahya to collect leftover tools from under the rubble to sell to a merchant for a few pounds. While searching in the ruins of Yahya's house, they find a camera belonging to his family, manage to turn it on, and take pictures of each other among the collapsed buildings. These photographs become witnesses to their memories, and as Sultan tries to take more pictures, debris falls on his friend's head.

Director Mohannad Kalthoum says, 'The award the film received affirmed to me that cinema is still capable of opening a dialogue between people despite their different languages and cultures,' adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that the true value of any award lies in the question it raises: why did this film reach people? 'From its beginning, the film "Photograph" was not seeking sympathy, nor condemning anyone, but rather trying to approach a person when he is forced to cling to what remains of his memory and dignity. Thus, I felt the award's name aligned with the film's spirit,' as he put it.

The two protagonists of the Syrian film 'Photograph' (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Kalthoum explains that 'hiding the camera behind the characters was his biggest concern during filming. I was looking for an image that breathes quietly, for light that resembles life, for places that bear the marks of time without speaking. I did not want a beautiful image so much as a truthful one, because truthfulness remains in the viewer's memory more than any visual dazzle. That is why I always say that "Photograph" is not a film about war, but about a person resisting oblivion, because what frightens a person most is not losing his home but losing his story.'

The 'Justice and Peace' award is a culmination of the film's journey through several Arab and international festivals, during which it won several awards. But Mohannad Kalthoum does not view these participations as a competition, but as a journey in which the film changes with every audience that watches it. He says about this: 'Sometimes I would leave the screening hall feeling that the audience discovered something in the film that I was not aware of, and that is one of the most beautiful surprises of cinema. That is why I do not like to measure the film's success by the number of awards, but by the number of times it managed to leave a silent impact on the viewer's heart after the screen goes dark.'

Kalthoum explains the reason for choosing the title 'Photograph,' saying: 'I was looking for a title that does not describe the film, but opens a door to enter it. For me, the photograph is a memory that resists time. Sometimes, one picture suffices to carry a whole life and bring back people and places that no longer exist except within us. Thus, the film was born.'

Syrian director Mohannad Kalthoum (Asharq Al-Awsat)

'Photograph' carries a clear human dimension, and it seems as if it is judging memory. But Kalthoum asserts that 'I do not view memory as a place we escape to whenever we miss the past, but rather the place where we protect our humanity from oblivion. Therefore, in "Photograph," memory was not a space for nostalgia, but rather a space for contemplation and for re-asking questions,' according to his statement.

Kalthoum affirms that he dealt with the screenplay as a space for dialogue between the writer's vision and his vision as a director. He says: 'It was important for me that each scene become closer to the characters, and more capable of expressing through image and silence, not words. I translated this feeling into a quiet visual language, leaving the viewer space to feel more than what is told to him, because I believe that the best films are those that trust the recipient's feeling and do not impose a single interpretation.'

Regarding Syrian cinema, and whether it has moved beyond the war to raise questions about identity, Kalthoum says: 'I believe that Syrian cinema today stands before an important opportunity to rediscover itself, not because the war is over, but because cinema cannot remain a prisoner of the event forever. The real challenge today is not to narrate what happened, but to understand what it left inside the person.'

Mohannad Kalthoum has presented numerous fiction and documentary works that have participated in international festivals and won many international awards. Among his fiction films are 'Why,' 'Yalla Play,' 'On the Roof of Damascus,' 'Hope Faith Love,' and among his documentaries are 'Al-Barzakh,' 'The Syrian Silk Journey,' and 'This Land.' He is the founder of the 'Yalla Cinema' project and the 'Damascus Film Days' festival for children and youth films.