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Waad Al-Kateab
UK 2024 84'
⚬ Current Affairs & Politics ⚬ Human Rights
From Academy Award-nominated director Waad Al-Kateab, Death Without Mercy provides an intimate, on-the-ground view of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake, weaving together personal stories of grief, resilience, pain, and hope in the face of both natural disaster and manmade tragedy.
Using TV news reports, social media, CCTV, drone footage and archived material, DEATH WITHOUT MERCY captures the destruction caused to Turkish and Syrian communities after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the region in the early hours of 6th February 2023.
The documentary is shown from the perspective of two Syrian families in the days following the disaster. At first, we hear from Fuad, who is making his way back from a business trip only to discover his home is destroyed and his wife, Safa, and their two sons are trapped under the rubble. Meanwhile, Fadi is desperately trying to get from Syria to Türkiye after hearing his family home has collapsed with all his loved ones inside.
Waad al-Kateab’s powerful documentary also uncovers how government incompetence, corruption and a lack of humanitarian aid exacerbated the destruction and led to the unnecessary deaths of many.
"a film driven by responsibility more than hope." - The Guardian
"brings home the reality of what happened for viewers who either never realized or simply forgot." - Deadline
Director | Waad Al- Kateab |
Producers | Lawrence Elman, Hasan Kattan, Ben de Pear, Sophie Daniel |
Executive Producers | Sheila Nevins |
Production Company | Docsville Studios, Basement Films |
Co-Production Company | MTV Documentary Films, AMC Media Production |
Cinematography | Fadi Alhalabi |
Editor | Agnieszka Liggett |
Music | Taul Katz |
Sound | Paul Zanders, Nick Clapham |
| Sheffield Doc Fest 2024 |
| Zurich FF 2024 |
| El Gouna Film FF 2024 |
| Runtime | 84' |
| Spoken Languages | Turkish, Arabic, English |
| Production Countries | UK |
