AS THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS WORSENED IN 2015, MANY HISTORIANS BEGAN COMPARING WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY IN SYRIA TO WHAT HAPPENED IN EUROPE DURING WORLD WAR II. IN OUR CLASS, WE DID THE SAME. WE ASKED, WHY ARE SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING TODAY AS THE PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED 80 YEARS AGO?
THIS LED TO FURTHER, MORE UNIVERSAL QUESTIONS: WHY DO PEOPLE PERSECUTE OTHERS? WHY DO PEOPLE FOLLOW CRUEL LEADERS? WHY DO PEOPLE SEE OTHERS IN NEED AND DO NOTHING? WHY ARE CIVILIANS TARGETED IN WAR?
WE CREATED BLACK AND WHITE SILENT FILMS TO EXPLORE THESE QUESTIONS AND TO DEVELOP EMPATHY FOR THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, BOTH FROM THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.
THE FACES OF THE FILMS ARE OURS. THE SITUATIONS ARE NOT, BUT THEY COULD BE.