Shef Doc Fest Exclusive: Tiny Souls

Tiny Souls is a powerful film that captures the transition from childhood to adulthood, and how some children are forced to grow up quickly and adapt to their surroundings. Palestinian-Jordanian filmmaker Dina Naser gives us a fascinating insight into the life inside Al Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan and allows us to see that world through a child’s eyes. By the end of Tiny Souls, you will be struggling to contain your emotions as this real-life tragedy unfolds on screen. This is truly a beautiful film which I hope will get seen by as many people as possible, as these children deserve to have their stories told and captured on the big screen.

The film focuses on one young girl, in particular, the nine-year-old Marwa, who we see grow up over the course of several years. Marwa is an inspirational young woman, who seems alert, intelligent and caring. There’s a deep sadness that Naser taps into in her film. Marwa and her siblings are another lost generation, uprooted from their home and forced into a life of instability and confusion. Upon Naser’s first initial meeting with Marwa, she was so struck by the young girl’s maturity and strength, that she was determined to document the power of human courage and determination. We can see the trauma in Marwa’s eyes and she tells her story of escape from Syria in such a casual, and matter-of-fact manner that it is quite chilling.

The Syrian refugee crisis has been documented heavily in the West and during a Q&A session at Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, Naser mentioned that distributors and other festivals have been reluctant to screen the film because ”we’re done with this theme now.” Hearing this is incredibly frustrating because this is not something that can be simply brushed to one side and casually forgotten.

Naser’s approach to document this story is different. There are very few leading questions or formal interviews from the director to the subjects. Instead, Naser takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, and the children are simply observed at first. We get the sense that they are shy, and perhaps even suspicious of the camera at the start. However, the documentary unfolds they become more relaxed in front of the camera, even dancing and performing songs. As Naser allows her subjects to speak for themselves, the film becomes stronger as a result. Naser almost becomes part of the family, and she creates an intimacy between the children and viewer that can’t really be replicated by a talking-heads style documentary.

Naser is welcomed into the most private spaces of their makeshift home, becoming particularly close with sisters, Marwa and Ayah. As their story unfolds, even the most mundane aspects of family life become compelling against the backdrop of conflict and exile.  These children are endearing witnesses, albeit with a limited and protected view of what is happening around them. They initially see the camp as a safe haven, after the horrors they have encountered back home in Syria. As time goes by, life in the camp becomes more and more problematic. We see sandstorms, snow, and floods which wreak havoc on the make-shift camp blowing tin roofs off and causes power cuts. Marwa and Ayah struggled in their poorly run school where the classrooms are too overcrowded and where there are not enough textbooks to go around.

As Marwa enters her teenage years, her interest in boys heightens, and she confesses to her video diary of finding a sweetheart. She sneaks out like any normal girl would do, but this isn’t a normal environment. Her brothers don’t go to school and soon find themselves in trouble. And, then things take a turn for the worse when the police turn up one day without any warning.

While Tiny Souls is not solely autobiographical, there is an element that this is a personal journey for the director as well. Naser felt compelled to film this documentary due to her father’s upbringing in a Palestinian child refugee camp. Recalling a conversation with her own father, Naser says: “I asked my father once, ‘Is there war in a camp?’ He said, ‘there’s no war…no peace either. Every day there is anticipation and fear.’” Naser even accepts that she could have ended up in a similar situation as Marwa and her siblings, and she also had to flee her homeland. It is clear from viewing Tiny Souls that Naser is a deeply compassionate and empathetic human being and this carries through into her work.

Overall, those who are seeking a more traditional, hard-hitting, journalistic approach to documenting this crisis, won’t necessarily find that with Tiny Souls. Instead, you will find something far more effective. This is a very compelling, tender, poetic and soulful piece that goes beyond the headlines to tell a very human and a very real story. It is a very powerful, impactful documentary and will stay with you for a very long time. Naser has done a masterful job of capturing the lives of these children and allowing their voices to be heard.