The feature-length documentary The Neighbourhood Storyteller, produced by an NGO called the Big Heart Foundation, has been selected for more than 25 international festivals and won several awards.
Among others it was selected by DOQUMENTA in Mexico, the Middlebury New Film-makers Festival in America and the UK’s Close:Up Edinburgh Docufest. Its awards include the Women-in-Film Award at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival and the Human Rights Award at the Toronto International Women’s Film Festival.
Directed by Alejandra Alcala, The Neighbourhood Storyteller shows the journey of a young woman, Asmaa, who fled Syria after the war there. Arriving in Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp she found her way as a storyteller. The documentary follows her daily life and her work as a storyteller in the refugee camp, where everyone feels their future is uncertain.
By making documentaries which show the daily lives of refugees, the Big Heart Foundation wants to raise public awareness of the social and political realities experienced by stateless people. The Neighbourhood Storyteller is the NGO’s first feature film.
Sources: Broadcast Pro, The Neighborhood Storyteller
