Allies In Exile:
Greek film premiere
Date: Wednesday 24 June 2026 / Time: 21:00 - 23:00 pm
Beehive | Melissa Network
Μετσόβου 10
106 82 Αθήνα
Two Syrian filmmakers with a past shaped by war document the trauma of waiting for asylum, using friendship & storytelling to survive exile.
Melissa Network in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts, invites you to the Greek premiere of Allies in Exile, directed by Hasan Kattan, presented in the context of World Refugee Day and Refugee Week. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.
Synopsis:
For 14 years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have journeyed together through war and storytelling. Their bond was forged on the frontlines of revolution where their cameras recorded terror and hope, laughter and heartbreak – moments that defined a generation.
Years later, their story takes an unexpected turn. Confined inside a UK asylum hotel, Hasan and Fadi document a new chapter shaped not by bombs, but by waiting, bureaucracy, and exile. Amid rising anti-refugee hostility, they turn the camera inward, exploring friendship and displacement and how filming itself becomes an act of survival when the future is so uncertain.
Director bio:
Hasan Kattan is a Syrian filmmaker and producer with over 14 years of experience documenting the human cost of war and displacement. Emerging during the Syrian revolution, he co-founded the Aleppo Media Center, a pioneering citizen journalism platform that exposed the realities of conflict in Syria. His work gained international recognition through his contributions to the Oscar-winning The White Helmets (2016) and the Emmy-nominated Last Men in Aleppo (2018), projects that brought the Syrian crisis into sharp global focus.
He recently produced Death Without Mercy (2024), a documentary examining the aftermath of the Turkey–Syria earthquake and the struggle for accountability. Now based in the United Kingdom as a refugee, Hasan brings a deeply personal perspective to his directorial debut, Allies in Exile. Through his work, Hasan amplifies silenced voices and advocates for a more nuanced understanding of exile, resilience, and justice.
