We will live to see these things, or, five pictures of what may come to pass

“We will live to see these things, or, five pictures of what may come to pass” is a documentary video in five parts about competing visions of an uncertain future. Shot in 2005–06 in Damascus, Syria, each section of the piece—the chronicle of a building in downtown Damascus, a recitation anticipating the arrival of a perfect leader, an interview with a dissident intellectual, a portrait of a Qur'an school for young girls, and an imagining of the world made anew—offers a different perspective on what might come to pass in a place where people live between the competing forces of a repressive regime, a growing conservative Islamic movement, and intense pressure from the United States.

Winner of “Best New International Video” at the Images Festival in Toronto, 2007 and the “Dialogue Award” at the European Media Arts Festival in Osnabrueck, Germany 2008.

single-channel video, color, NTSC, 47 minutes
Produced by Julia Meltzer, Directed by Julia Meltzer and David Thorne
Written by David Thorne
Edited by Catherine Hollander
Music and Sound Design by Chris Kubick
Camera by Raed Sandeed

This project is distributed by Video Data Bank, Arab Film Distribution, and, in Canada, V-Tape.