The Return to Homs plot
Portrait of a group of young revolutionary friends in the metropolis of Homs in western Syria, filmed from August 2011 to August 2013. They dream of their country being liberated from President Bashar al-Assad, and fight for justice through peaceful protest. As the military gets tougher and their town turns into a ghost town, the young men turn into armed rebels. The film puts two friends in the foreground. The 19-year-old charismatic goalkeeper of the Basset national football team, who becomes the voice of the protest movement in his Bayada neighborhood with his revolutionary songs, and the 24-year-old media activist and cameraman Ossama from the adjacent Khaldeeye district. Lively protests give way to panicked civilians fleeing, followed by fierce fighting in an abandoned city in which more and more loved ones are killed.