Syria
How to Freelance Safely – Part Two
By Graham Lanktree As many major news organisations close foreign bureaus, freelancers are called on more and more to cover global conflicts. They face risks often without the structure, training and resources that come with having a large media outlet behind you. Continuing a conversation that began at the end of October in New York at the […]
ISIS is here for a generation
By Richard Nield The threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the international network of militants it has spawned will be with us for a “generation”, according to experts speaking at the Frontline Club on Wednesday 24 September 2014.
Ground Zero at the Frontline Club
By Richard Nield A compelling Frontline Club event on Wednesday 25 June showcased film and photographic work from across the globe that revealed both the depth of suffering and the strength of human spirit in some of the world’s most devastating internal conflicts. Featured at the event was a series of photographs from Tim Freccia in […]
Iraq on the Brink
With a panel of experts we will take a view of events on the ground and the measures being taken by Iraq, its neighbours and the international community. Asking how ISIS has been able advance so quickly and what can be done to prevent further escalation of sectarian polarisation. We will also be looking at the new alliances that might be formed in this new front on the fight against extremism.
Return to Homs and the journey of two friends from pacifist protestors to rebel insurgents
By Sally Ashley-Cound Return to Homs follows two close friends and young revolutionaries as their beloved city is taken over by the army. Basset is a local football star, the goalkeeper for the Syrian national team who also became an iconic singer in the revolution, and Ossama is a media activist and pacifist. The intimate portrait shows how […]
Syrian Snapshots: We started with hope and ended with despair
By Greta Hofmann At the screening of Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making on Thursday 29 May at the Frontline Club, host Vaughan Smith was joined by Abounaddara Films producer Charif Kiwan, former Le Monde editor and founder of the WARM Foundation Remy Ourdan, and photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe, for a pre-screening discussion as well as a […]
Preview Screening: Return to Homs + Q&A
Filmed between August 2011 and August 2013, Return to Homs is an intimate portrait of a group of young revolutionaries in the city of Homs. Filmmaker Talal Derki followed the journey of two close friends whose lives were turned upside down by the events in Syria. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with producer Orwa Nyrabia via Skype.
Aleppo. Notes from the Dark: “Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times”
By Phoebe Hall On Thursday 24 April, the Frontline Club welcomed a full house to a screening of Aleppo. Notes from the Dark. It was followed by an insightful Q&A with directors Michal Przedlacki and Wojciech Szumowski, which touched on the misrepresentation of the conflict in Western media and the possibility of a foreign peacekeeping intervention. […]
Can illustration offer another layer to war reportage?
By Sally Ashley-Cound At the Frontline Club on Wednesday 16 April illustrator George Butler and features editor for The Guardian and editor of the G2 supplement Malik Meer discussed whether there is room for supposedly more subjective and abstract illustration in hard-news when photography dominates.
WARM Presents: Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making + debate
Founded in 2010 by a group of Syrian filmmakers, Abounaddara anonymously releases weekly films on the web in order to avoid censorship. These short films are a testimony of the fight for freedom in Syria. The film Syria: Snapshots of History in the Making is constructed from these short films and forms an intimate journey into a society on the brink. The screening will be preceded by a discussion with journalist and head of WARM Remy Ourdan , producer of Abounaddara Films Charif Kiwan , photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe.
Preview Screening: Aleppo. Notes from the Dark + Q&A
In the summer of 2013, Michal Przedlacki and Wojciech Szumowski spent 44 days in Aleppo, documenting the lives of ordinary citizens in extraordinary circumstances. Aleppo. Notes From the Dark offers a unique and poignant account of life in Aleppo from the perspective of seven of its residents. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-directors Michal Przedlacki and Wojciech Szumowski.
In the Picture: Illustration in Times of War
We are flooded with images taken by cameras and phones which often struggle to have the impact that they did 50 years ago. In a society that has become so desensitised to photographs of war, can illustration be used to better encapsulate a situation and connect with the viewer? Illustrator George Butler will present his drawings from war-torn Syria as we consider whether there is still room for illustration in hard-news stories.
ISIS and damage limitation in the battle for Syria
by Sally Ashley-Cound On February 19 at the Frontline Club, a panel chaired by international editor at Channel 4 News Lindsey Hilsum, discussed the current state of rebel fractions and the rise of ISIS in Syria. Hilsum started of by asking what happened to the FSA, which was so prominent during the first months of […]
Missing: The Foreign Correspondents Abducted in Syria
Foreign reporters began to go missing in Syria in the autumn of 2012. The first disappeared just as the conflict slid from violent unrest into the abyss of outright civil war. What happened to our missing reporters? Who holds them and what can we do to help secure their release?
Roving foreign correspondent for The Times Anthony Loyd will be chairing a panel of specialists with first hand knowledge of the hostage crisis in Syria to examine how best we can aid the vanished.
Blurred Borders: The Consequences of Over-Spill from Conflict in Syria
by Sally Ashley-Cound On Thursday 6 February at the Frontline Club, Dan Smith, secretary general of International Alert, chaired a panel which discussed the impact of the war in Syria on the surrounding states.
The Fog of Peace
In war there is rarely a single action or answer that will bring peace. As we are seeing with the conflict in Syria, the process of negotiation and resolution is incredibly complex. We will be joined by the authors of a new book, The Fog of Peace: The Human Face of Conflict Resolution, to offer an insight into psychological theories, geopolitical realities and first-hand peace-making experience.
Blurred Borders: The Spill-Over Risks of the Syria Conflict
This event is organised by International Alert.
Civil wars are tragedies for the countries they consume, but they can also be dangerous for neighbouring states. Almost three years into the political and humanitarian crisis in Syria, what challenges does the ongoing violence pose for peace and stability in the region? And what can be done to prevent the crisis from stoking existing tensions in countries such as Lebanon?
ISIS and the Battle for Syria
The uprising in Syria began as a battle between Syrians and the regime of Bashar al-Assad, but the picture in the country now is much more complicated. As fighting between the Syrian opposition and al-Qaeda affiliated groups intensifies we will be bringing together a panel to offer a picture of what is happening on the ground in Syria. We will be looking at groups involved, how they have developed and their power and influence in the country and further afield.
The changing state of reporting on Syria
by Sally Ashley-Cound It is becoming more and more dangerous to report from inside Syria. At the Frontline Club on 19 November a panel chaired by Stuart Hughes, a senior world affairs producer with BBC News and in association with the Overseas Press Club, discussed how reporting has changed since the conflict began and how […]
The Bombing of al-Bara: The Camera That Captured It
By Antonia Roupell On 29 October, exactly one year and one day after the bombing of al-Bara in northern Syria, an audience gathered in the Ritzy Cinema to watch filmmaker Olly Lambert’s extraordinary footage of the attacks. The Bombing of al-Bara screening was hosted by the Frontline Club and DocHouse as part of a series of Between […]
The New Middle East: Why would you expect it to be easy?
By Caroline Schmitt During a conversation with BBC Arabic’s Samir Farah on 15 October, the BBC’s former Middle East Bureau Chief Paul Danahar gave the audience at the fully-booked Frontline Club a first-hand regional snapshot of the post-Arab Spring Middle East. One of the conclusions Danahar has drawn in his recent book The New Middle East: The […]
Syria: Changing Media Coverage?
The conflict in Syria has taken the lives of many journalists and many more have been kidnapped and remain missing. The level of risk for journalists in the country is extremely high and yet the imperative to cover what is happening there is equally so.
In partnership with the Overseas Press Club we will be bringing together a panel of journalists and editors to talk about the challenges to journalism that have arisen from the high risk of covering the conflict in Syria and the work that needs to be done to better ensure the safety of journalists working there.
Between the Lines Follow-Up Event: The Bombing of al-Bara + Q&A
This is an external event taking place at Ritzy Cinema. On 28 October 2012, a government jet dropped a bomb on the village of al-Bara. Only 300 meters away, Olly Lambert was filming a meeting of rebel soldiers. While keeping his camera rolling, Lambert documented the shocking impact of the regime air strike on a civilian population. Taking this intimate personally narrated footage as starting point, Lambert will discuss in depth the experience of filmmaking on the front line.
Intervening in Syria: Not Another Iraq or Afghanistan
By Jim Treadway “It’s a town hall style meeting – we quickly come to you,” BBC 4‘s Paddy O’Connell told a sold-out First Wednesday audience at the Frontline Club yesterday evening. The topic was intervention in Syria, and with four experts by his side, O’Connell led a lively back-and-forth with the night’s attendees. “Here we […]
Syria Conflict: Developments on the ground and on the international stage
By Dan Tookey The month of Ramadan is usually a time for festivities and celebration but in Syria there is little to rejoice about. The United Nations has estimated around 93,000 Syrians have died since the civil war began in 2011 and the number of refugees fleeing the country recently exceeded 1.5 million. On Wednesday […]
Syria Conflict: Developments on the ground and on the international stage
As fierce fighting continues in Syria, the death toll according to the United Nations has now reached at least 93,000 and the number of refugees fleeing the country has exceeded 1.5 million. We will be joined by five journalists who have covered the situation in Syria extensively since the uprising began in early 2011. They will be discussing recent developments, on the ground and on the international stage, and asking what changes we could see in coming months.
Sheffield Doc/Fest Session: Surviving Syria – Filmmaking in Extremis
Heading to Sheffield Doc/Fest this year? Not only does the programme contain a fantastic selection of films, everyone with a full festival pass also has access to the diverse and inspiring conference programme. Join Frontline Club founder, Vaughan Smith on Friday 14 June at 2.30 PM at the Crucible Studio, for the panel Surviving Syria: Filmmaking in Extremis.
Under the Wire: In conversation with Paul Conroy
By Anna Reitman Photojournalist and filmmaker Paul Conroy joined Channel 4 News’ international editor Lindsey Hilsum at the Frontline Club on 6 June, to give a personal account of his experiences in Syria, detailed in his new book Under the wire: Marie Colvin’s Final Assignment. Encouraged by his friends, Conroy wrote the book as he recovered […]
In conversation with Paul Conroy – Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Final Assignment
Paul Conroy will be joining us in conversation with international editor at Channel 4 News, Lindsey Hilsum, to talk about Under The Wire. Offering a testimony of war reportage, and a personal account of the final assignment he embarked on with Marie Colvin, one of the foremost journalists of our generation.
Writing Revolution: The voices from Tunis to Damascus
From Cairo to Damascus, Tunisia to Bahrain, Writing Revolution brings together some of the best new writing born out of the profound changes shaking the region. We will be joined by the editors and two of the contributors to talk about their work and how it has been shaped and influenced by the historic events unfolding around them.