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The Cultural Frontline: Telling stories in times of conflict

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Telling stories in times of conflict

17/12/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - The Cultural Frontline, Telling stories in times of conflict

What can stories mean to people living in war? How do storytellers find hope in chaos?

Soudad Kaadan finds hope in chaos in her new film Nezouh. And Ukrainian writers Artem Chapeye and Andrey Kurkov explain what stories can mean to a nation at times of crisis.

Soudade Kaadan’s speks to Sana Safi about her new film Nezouh, which tells the story of a young girl and her family caught in the centre of the Syrian conflict as they remain in their besieged hometown of Damascus. It is a story that has personal resonance for Soudade as Damascus was a place that she also once called home. Inspired by a photo of a bomb-damaged house, she began writing the script in 2013. It’s a allegorical tale told through the eyes of a young girl, with magical realism, female emancipation and finding hope in chaos at its heart. 

Both Sana Safi and Atia Abawi’s lives were shaped by the war between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union in the 1980s and the 2001 invasion by the United States and NATO as part of what became known as the War on Terror. Both Sana and Atia have dedicated their careers to telling the story of Afghans. Afghanistan's story is not just one of conflict but also family, tradition, and a rich cultural history. The two writers discuss how they tell these stories in both journalism and in fiction.

Andrey Kurkov is an author of critically acclaimed and best-selling novels. He has become a de facto voice of Ukraine as he shares his diaries and despatches from Kyiv spread the news of daily life in a warzone. Meanwhile, fellow Ukrainian writer Artem Chapeye has left behind the writer’s desk after signing up to become a private in the Ukrainian army. Andrey and Artem explain to Sana Safi what it is like to be a writer in conflict, whether war is shaping their writing, and what impact they think the war will have on the future of Ukrainian storytelling.
 
Producer: Sofie Vilcins

(Photo: Still from Nezouh by Soudade Kaadan. Credit: Nezouh ltd/BFI/Film4)

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