Winner's acceptance speech by Waad al-Kateab for For Sama in the Documentary category
WAAD AL-KATEAB: Thank you so much.
First, thank you and congratulations to all the other nominees which, after now almost one year of releasing the film, we became also friends.
Sorry, again.
In 2016, three years ago, we were in Aleppo. We were in a basement of a field hospital, Hamza, me and Sama, and Afraa, and we heard and we were hearing the shelling and the bombing all the time around us. At one moment, in 2016, when I was in contact with Channel 4 News, we even thought where we should bury our footage in case we didn't make it. This needed to be saved.
We did the film and I'm so glad and I'm so honoured I'm standing here. Thank you so much for BAFTA for recognising the film in so many other categories. And as we’re speaking now, the situation in Syria is still so bad. As we’re speaking, there's shelling and bombing on over 3.5 million civilians. These people, there in Idlib, they should hear your voice now. They should hear that Britain, as a country, as a great country, will not let that happen again.
I know it's so hard, but this award, it’s for the great Syrian people who are still suffering until today, and the great heroes - doctors, nurses, civil defence, so many other people, volunteers, from Molham Team to Violet - many other people.
Please, I dedicate this award to them. Let them hear your voice. Thank you so much.
