Randa Baath News Today

Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities

"There is no doubt that we Syrians have experienced the existential question—Who are we today?—especially after our social rupture and scattering across all corners of the globe. In our search for the answer, we found that all the existing descriptions for our new situation fall short. You cannot simply call yourself a Syrian."

So that it wouldn’t be said that the people of Kafr Sousseh had expelled the neighborhood’s minorities, I insisted on staying alone without electricity, and sometimes without water, with my remaining neighbors.

"I was deeply convinced that I left an imprint of my soul on every film I worked on, whether its producer admitted this or not."

Bassel’s family and friends handed me a great responsibility when they asked me to complete his film, a responsibility that will continue to stay with me, like a mountain on my shoulders. It will sit there until the end of my own life.

Tales of this Time, which was published in 2014, and Good morning Lovelies, published in 2020. Youssef lives in Berlin. SyriaUntold originally published this piece in Arabic here.  It is hard to introduce an interview conducted with a figure we love, let alone a figure we consider an idol. I don’t know what prompted me to request an interview with Randa Baath. I was fully aware it would be difficult for both of us, due to the special bond I have with her and her family, but I decided to mov...