Guevara Namer

They grew up in the land of dictators and surveillance, where images are censored, photos are burned, thoughts are discreet, and mouths are kept shut. They grew up in Syria.

To avoid a forced marriage, 19-year-old Hala finds refuge across the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria at a military academy where, while learning to fight, she vows to fight to free all women.

To avoid a forced marriage, 19-year-old Hala finds refuge across the Euphrates River in northeastern Syria at a military academy where, while learning to fight, she vows to fight to free all women.

A young Syrian woman doesn't share her parents' beliefs, but she's still been locked up inside their belief system all her life. Because she is a young woman, her parents almost never allow her to leave the house, let alone participate in activities against the Syrian regime. But she rebels anyway. She writes and sings protest songs in secret, in the hope that they will encourage others to start thinking for themselves, and to believe in a better tomorrow with more freedom. For 37 minutes, we watch and hear about what motivates this young woman. Neither she nor the people around her ever appear identifiable on-screen. Even the voices are manipulated to keep the chance of recognition to a minimum.