The Syria Film Festival returns this year with a new home Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and a new program of striking and powerful films. Our three-day festival this year focuses on the lives of Syrians under siege, whether in Syria itself or in exile throughout the world.

Some highlights from our program:

Syria's Rebellious Women. This series of short films, all directed by Zaina Erhain, follows different female activists living in the fragile freedom of rebel-held northern Syria. Director Zaina Erhaim is one of the leading journalists in the struggle for a free Syria.

City of Ghosts. See the acclaimed documentary on the big screen at the Ted Rogers Hot Docs cinema. The underground journalists of Raqqa tell the stories of how they exposed the war crimes and brutality of life under Bashar Assad and ISIS.

Watani: My Homeland. This Acadademy Award nominated film follows the aftermath for the family of a man fighting in the uprising against Assad, who is captured and killed by ISIS.

Syria Film Festival. 2017. Toronto. 10-12 November. Schedule of films coming soon.