Portrait of Feras Fayyad, director of National Geographic film ‘The Cave’
Oscar-nominated director, Feras Fayyad who directed and co-wrote the 2019 documentary ‘The Cave,’ was previously nominated for a 2018 Oscar for his doc, ‘The Last Men in Aleppo.’ His new film, ‘The Cave’ centers on Dr. Amani Ballour. Dr. Ballour, a pediatrician, who has been elected to manage an underground hospital in the besieged suburg of Al Ghouta, outside Damascus, fights to save lives every day. The Syrian War, which started in 2011, has killed, displaced and injured hundreds of thousands of Syrian men, women and children. Dr. Amani has devoted five years to saving lives.
The documentary follows Dr. Amani’s challenges as the suburb and hospital are bombed and citizens are caught in the crosshairs. She treats patients with limited resources and medicine but succeeds in saving and inspiring girls and young women to dream and aspire to be whatever they dream.
Bombings and Explosions in Al Ghouta, Syria
Syria’s dictatorial President Bashar al-Assad attacked the suburb of Ghouta relentlessly with help from his allies, the Russians, after uprisings calling for his removal and the creation of a democratic state. Al-Assad even made use of chemical warfare, which has been banned by the international community since the 1925 Geneva Protocol following World War I.
Portrait of Dr. Amani Ballour
Dr. Amani Ballour became the first ever woman to lead a hospital in Syria. Her bravery and courage in the deadly Syrian War not only saved the lives of countless people in her wartorn country, but also has inspired other women and children to dream big and believe that they too can do “something important” in life regardless of their gender.
Dr. Amani and fellow staff celebrating her birthday an underground hospital
Dr. Salim holds a light for Dr. Amani to blow out during her birthday celebration in the hospital. Even though ‘The Cave’ hospital had to be located underground to withstand the daily bombings by the Russian air force, which was aligned with Syria’s President al-Assad, was understaffed and short on food and medicine, the doctors and nurses made the best of what they had.
Dr. Amani comforts a young girl
Dr. Amani was able to provide care to many of the children injured in the attacks by the Syrian government. The fighting in Syria has gone on relentlessly for eight eyars, reducing once beautiful cities, towns and suburgs to rubble. 400,000 residents of Ghouta, suburb of Damascus were trapped and under bombardment. Dr Amani courageously worked for five years to save lives under these conditions.
An injured girl is brought to the hospital for treatment
Dr. Amani, a trained pediatrician, saved countless children injured by bombs from certain death. She hired women to work at the hospital to earn money to buy food for their malnourished children. However, when hundreds of citizens, including dozens of children, were injured in a chemical attach, even she broke down, as she worked.
