55 minutes, 2023
Director : Batoul KARBIJHA (Syria)
Production : DOXY Films (Nederland)
Director Batoul Karbijha uses the shooting of a film about her missing sister as a way to find out what happened and come to terms with this immense loss. For herself, for her family and for all families who have also lost loved ones on the way to a safer future. On August 24, 2014, Maysoon Karbijha, 20 yers old, disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea. She was traveling from Syria to Europe when her boat capsized. Of the 712 people on board, 352 were rescued, 24 bodies were pulled from the water by the Italian Navy, and around 170 others have since gone missing. Maysoon is one of them. Batoul hopes that the research will make it possible to talk about Maysoon with his family. An intimate process in which loss, pain and hope prevail.
Batoul KARBIJHA is a Syrian journalist and filmmaker who lives in Amsterdam. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Damascus and a Master’s degree in Media and Theology from the University of Amsterdam. She then studied filmmaking in Leipzig, Germany. She has worked as a journalist in Syria and has written numerous articles for Arab media and newspapers such as Al-Jazeera, Al-Safeer and Arab-London. She moved to the Netherlands in 2014 and has since worked as a creative producer for short-form documentaries, especially in conflict and war-torn countries. Batoul has an intimate approach, focusing on human rights, immigrants and refugees. My Maysoon is her first film as a director.