For Sama

Named for her daughter, For Sama depicts Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years in Aleppo. The journey takes her from economics student to her marriage to Hamza al-Kateab (later a doctor at one of Aleppo’s few remaining hospitals) and finally the birth of her daughter, all told against the backdrop of the Battle of Aleppo and succeeding conflict as it engulfs the city. She and her husband are ultimately faced with the decision to flee the city or selflessly stay in service of the war’s innocent victims.