Oscar for short documentary goes to The White Helmets - Syrian First Responders

The Oscar nominated documentary The White Helmets was shot on location by Khalid Khateeb -  a 21year old Syrian volunteer for the White Helmets - the Syrian Civil Defense.  The rescuers rush to the sites of bombings in Aleppo and elsewhere to extract people from collapsed buildings.  Khateeb was the videographer who  risked his life  to film the heroism of the "White Helmets"-   It is a powerful story of brave men.

The White Helmets – dir. Orlando von Einsiedel, 41 minutes
In the chaos of war-torn Syria, unarmed and neutral civilian volunteers known as “the white helmets” comb through the rubble after bombings to rescue survivors. Although they have already saved more than 60,000 lives since 2013, these brave first responders continue to place themselves in danger every day.

Watani: My Homeland is the story of the wife and four children of a Free Syrian Army fighter who was betrayed and captured by ISIS in Aleppo. Preseumed dea, his wife and kids are able to emigrate to Germany.
Watani: My Homeland – dir. Marcel Mettelsiefen, 39 minutes

Four young children live with their mother and father, a Free Syrian Commander, in a warzone in Aleppo, Syria. During filming their father is captured by ISIS.  The children flee with their mother to Goslar, Germany, in a years-long journey that will test them all as they try to find a safe home in a foreign country.