Lovers' Notebooks

دفاتر العشاق

Saraqueb walls

Overview

The population of Saraqeb in Syria expresses the ongoing misery in their country and the changes after the revolution through graffiti. The walls are the basis for their existence, providing protection from outside violence. They also bear the names of martyrs, common expressions, poetry, revolutionary slogans and other graffiti. The documentary Lovers' Notebooks was shot over three years and is the first film by Saraqeb inhabitant and media activist Eyad Aljarod who directed it with Canadian-Syrian Aliaa Khachouk. The film reveals the constant tension between the revolt-sparked energy and a sense of despair, between leaving a place and the decision to return, between the euphoria about the beauty of an image and the fear of war. During the film and during the night, the walls of Saraqeb are filled with text like a lover's notebook.