The Other Side of the Sun (Syria)
A film by Tawfik Sabouni
Belgium / France / Saudi Arabia | 2026 | 92 minutes
An Icarus Films release
Synopsis
Icarus Films is proud to announce its acquisition of exclusive North American distribution rights to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUN, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, and swept the Arab Feature-Length Documentary competition at the 2026 Amman International Film Festival, winning the Jury Award, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Audience Award.
Following the collapse of Assad’s regime and the liberation of Syria in 2024, filmmaker Tawfik Sabouni returns to the notorious Sednaya Prison (the “other side of the sun”) where he had been imprisoned, along with four fellow survivors.
Together, in the physical spaces of their torture and imprisonment, with Sabouni filming, they engage in a carefully constructed reenactment of daily rituals, gestures, and moments of survival.
With sensitivity and restraint, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SUN confronts the viewer with the enduring scars of imprisonment. By restoring presence to those who disappeared, the film bears witness to the suffering of survivors and to the families still searching for answers amid Syria’s ongoing, fraught reckoning with its past.
Date
Asian World Film Festival
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher-Niyaz and overseen by Executive & Program Director Georges N. Chamchoum, brings the very best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. Uniting through cross-cultural collaboration, the Festival champions films from over 50 countries across Asia plus atonomous Countries, spanning from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to India and South-East Asia. The Festival is unique in that it predominantly screens Oscar and Golden Globe submissions for Best International Feature Film and Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language respectively. All films that participate in the Festival will have a unique chance to be guided through the challenging awards season and showcased to members of the Motion Picture Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration.
Asian World Film Festival Los Angeles, 2023 - All Rights ReservedThe Asian World Film Festival is produced by Aitysh USA, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization. (EIN: 47-3362394)
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