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Logline

Forced to flee Syria, a group of award-winning teenage engineers found hope in robotics. Now, as they prepare for a life-changing international robotics championship in Panama City, they must confront their past, their dreams, and the daunting question: can they rebuild their lives – and their country?

Synopsis

Since 2011, the Syrian war has forcibly displaced twelve million people. Along the Syrian border in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, a community of Syrians remain activated, rebuilding their lives whilst preserving their hope of one day returning home. For Team Hope, a group of award-winning teenage engineers, robotics became a lifeline – a distraction from the crisis in which they are entangled. Tucked away in a Syrian community center, they tirelessly build and program robots. Their efforts have brought them first place awards across national and international competitions. In November, Aya, Leen, Jad, and Mohammad, will travel to Panama City to compete in First Global – the world’s largest robotics event. Learning robotics in refuge is rooted in the hope of one day applying their knowledge to rebuilding Syria. But amidst Lebanon and Syria’s economic and political instability, rising anti-Syrian xenophobia and Israeli bombardment, displaced Syrians in Bekaa struggle to remain hopeful. After the fall of Assad, a weight has been lifted, but new unforeseen anxieties and uncertainties linger; a bitter-sweet transition. Through their passion and perseverance, these teenagers are forging a new narrative and future for themselves and their community.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Dr. Natalie Garland — Co-Director/Producer
Natalie is an anthropologist experimenting with craft and film as impactful tools for capturing overlooked narratives of dispossession. Her doctoral project (2021-2025) entitled, The Everyday Burden of Dignity: An Exploration of Syrian Refugeehood in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, integrated ethnographic, participatory and visual methodological tools to reconceptualize dignity as an everyday endeavor of continuous preservation. During this time, Natalie also founded LAMSA, a community-based crochet brand comprised of 10 Syrian artisans displaced in the Bekaa. Through observing the intangible and mundane particularities of everyday life, combined with a passion for action, social justice, and the arts, Natalie is developing a new caring, creative and multifaceted approach to anthropological research in precarious contexts.

David Gösta Dawson — Co-Director/DP
David Gösta Dawson is a director, DP and editor documenting artists and communities through an intimate, collaborative lens. He has worked on various short films on underground subcultures such as the Grime music scene in London, and directed Kolektiv (2021) which explored artist collectives across Belgrade, Serbia. The film premiered at Beldocs (Belgrade), Le Bal (Paris), and Berzakh (Beirut). He later developed an expertise in community-based research, studying Urban Policy at the Bartlett school of Planning. David continues to document local artists and communities across the UK and Lebanon, refining his artistic and collaborative approach.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.