When the war emptied Damascus of so many who loved it, the novelist Khaled Khalifa refused to go. As his friends scattered into exile, he stayed — writing, cooking, welcoming whoever knocked at his door, insisting that the culture of his city could not be killed. Over his final years, his friend of two decades, the journalist Lina Sinjab, kept the camera running. This is the record of their urgent, tender argument about the city they both love — one from inside it, one from the distance of exile.The film
I thought present-day Damascus had little in common with the city I once knew. Khaled insisted that Damascene culture endures.
Lina Sinjab, director
The Title
Renowned Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa is determined to cherish life in war-torn Damascus, even as most of his friends are forced to leave. His friend Lina Sinjab documents his persistence to survive in the city he calls home — the city she has lost — until destiny takes a fatal turn.
Director’s statement
I left Damascus in 2013. The civil war, the constant security threats and the regime’s imprisonment had made life intolerable — my conflict reporting had earned me threats and detention. My friend of twenty years, the internationally celebrated author Khaled Khalifa, stayed put.
Death is Hard Work is a documentary feature that records the urgent conversation between us about the city we love. I believed that present-day Damascus had little in common with the city I once knew. Khaled insisted that Damascene culture endures.
Barzakh is a tribute to the life he maintained — the life we all lived in Damascus, and have now lost.
