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WAAD AL-KATEAB: from citizen journalist to award-winning filmmaker

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Episode notes

Waad Al-Kateab is a BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Born in Syria, Waad left home at 18, to study at the university of Aleppo.

In 2011, she began shooting video on her phone, while attending pro-democracy protests. Waad went on to document the next five years in Aleppo, capturing life, loss and emergency care in the besieged city - as well as the birth of her first daughter Sama.

Waad wanted the world to know what was happening and, when Channel 4 News shared her reports, they were seen by millions. When she finally had to leave Aleppo, Waad began turning hundreds of hours of footage into the 2019 documentary, For Sama.

Now based in London, Waad campaigns to raise awareness of the crimes committed under President Assad’s regime - as well as the global refugee crisis. And, in her new film, We Dare To Dream, she turns her lens on five incredible athletes, as they strive for a place on the Refugee Olympic Team.