I Want to Live (2015) Online
I Want to Live is a documentary on the lives of Kurdish Refugees from Syria, living in refugee camps in Kurdistan. Shot on location, it is set against the Syrian civil war and the ISIS (Islamic State) attacks upon Kurdistan. Told through the eyes of a young boy, Shndar, living with Thalassemia disease, he searches for an immediate treatment as he ages without losing hope, leaving his home amid simmering ethnic and religious hatred to live the life of a refugee. The film tells stories of daily life on the camp and outside of it. More than being a film on the life of refugees, it is an intimate character study and gripping tale of innocent lost amides wars, a meditation on life, death, war, peace, and tolerance.
After seeing the film, the Iranian filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami praised the film for its truthful depiction of the Refugee crisis, as quoted from Kiarostami; "We need more film that is rich in humanity like I Want to Live. At a time of conflicts and war, this film offer a hope for peace in a region full of chaos".
The boy in the film, Shndar who has Thalassemia disease, need to have an immediate treatment of bones transplant in order to stay alive, and the surgery could only be done outside Kurdistan. After one year of the film, showing in various festival and charitable organization, in the Summer of 2016, Shndar with his family went to Belfast in Northern Ireland, with Refugee status, he is now getting treatment and his wish in the film, the wish of wanting to stay alive, to live, has come true.
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