Photo credit: Grasshopper Film
Breaking: “Last Men in Aleppo” producer Kareem Abeed’s appeal to the U.S. State Department was successful, and will be able to attend the Oscars on Sunday after being granted a travel visa. The film’s director tweeted on Wednesday, “Good news: My producer Kareem Abeed gets his visa finally, finger crossed that he mange [sic] to get in to U.S now,” adding, “Thanks for everyone involved to helping this process and thanks for all the solidarity and the effort from the American friends for facing Trump ban to help us to be with our film.” Last week, his visa was officially rejected by the U.S. government. Prior to that, TheWrap reported that Abeed and White Helmets co-founder Mahmoud Al-Hattar will not be present on Oscar Sunday after the Syrian government refused to expedite the visa process to allow them to travel to Hollywood.
“Last Men in Aleppo” is a 2017 Oscar-nominated documentary highlighting the volunteer search and rescue organization Syria Civil Defence, commonly known as the White Helmets. Since 2013, the White Helmets have gained international attention for rescuing and assisting civilians targeted by the Assad regime and Russian forces in Syria. “Last Men in Aleppo” documents the lives and personal struggles of these brave volunteer rescue workers as they conduct rescue missions across Aleppo, Syria. The Center for American Progress’ Reel Progress program and Grasshopper Film screened the Oscar-nominated documentary, followed by a short panel featuring the film’s director Feras Fayyad—the first Syrian filmmaker to be nominated for an Oscar—along with the Center for American Progress’ Brian Katulis, Council on Foreign Relations’ Steven Cook, and Al Arabiya’s Nadia Bilbassy-Charters.hot
The Trailer:
