Watch: A new film shows a Syrian family’s heart-stopping escape from ISIS-controlled territory
‘During those moments, I felt like I died 10,000 times.’
Oscar-winning filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested, who previously made the film Restrepo, about American armed conflict in Afghanistan, have turned their attention to the crisis in Syria in a new documentary.
Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS, will air this Saturday in the United States. A bulk of the 1,000 hours of footage used to make the film was gathered from Human Rights Watch and local news agencies.
The teaser (above) focuses on the Syrian family at the centre of the film, revealing glimpses of their harrowing escape from ISIS-controlled territory. It shows just how many risks this family with three young children had to take to make it across the border without arousing suspicion.
The most terrifying footage in the film was shot by the members of the family themselves, the intensity contrasting with the innocent faces of the children. “We managed to get them a camera and then we gave them a two-page document about how to film themselves,” the filmmakers told National Geographic about their shooting process. “We said to tell us how you feel all the time, show what life is like where you’re living wherever you possibly can, and try and shoot landmarks so we can understand where you were.”