It’s a recurring nightmare likely shared by many Syrians who fled their homeland during the war – a mirage of home and hope, slipping away.
Directed by Yazan Rabee, BACK is a short documentary that follows those who return in their sleep to ghostly hometowns, hunted down by menacing forces.
Blending intimate testimony with striking visuals, BACK explores how political violence becomes embedded in the subconscious, especially for those who long for home from life in exile.
But as Rabee asks, did the nightmare really begin in 2012, with the uprising against president Bashar al-Assad? Or did the trauma take root decades earlier, during the brutal reign of Bashar’s father?
Published On 18 Jun 2025
