– BERLINALE 2026: Abdallah Al-Khatib makes his feature-length fiction debut with a film on a series of interconnected stories about ordinary people surviving under fire
Nadeem Rimawi in Chronicles from the Siege
German-based Palestinian-Syrian filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib reflects conflict back onto the viewer in Chronicles from the Siege, his newest effort that he both wrote and directed. The feature is stated to be inspired by the director’s time at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria while also looking to reflect Palestinian experiences more broadly over many years. However, based purely on visual cues, the work feels intentionally extracted from a specific place, never forcing any diegetic mentions of one particular conflict or siege. The film has premiered in the Perspectives section of the 2026 Berlinale as Al-Khatib’s feature-length fiction debut.
Chronicles from the Siege largely delivers what its title promises: a series of interconnected stories demonstrating the multifaceted hardship faced by people while being actively fired upon from all around and above. Al-Khatib begins with a sequence of very striking pseudo-video camera footage, capturing crowds wandering around and fighting for food on a bombed-out boulevard, a clock ticking menacingly in the soundtrack by Rana Eid.
The movie then turns to Arafat (Nadeem Rimawi), an older man starving from the siege, whom we later learn was a filmmaker sent to jail for his work. A group of young people explore Arafat’s abandoned video store, musing on events and their struggles. Later, couple Fares (Emad Azmi) and Huda (Maria Zreik) try to enjoy some so-called normalcy together and a moment to be physically intimate, only to be interrupted constantly: by a call to give blood, a man seeking food and a family looking for help. Lastly, Al-Khatib leads us to a final sequence at an overcrowded hospital, where we meet Arafat again and the film regains the visceral panic of the first sequences.
As a narrative product, the film has a script filled with memorable moments – including when a cigarette thief played by Al-Khatib himself runs off with the precious item – but they struggle to cohere into an emotional whole. Several individuals wield in-film video cameras throughout the feature, although this device is used more sporadically than needed to land a commentary about witnessing, documentation and filmmaking in war zones. At one point, a man pushes away someone with a camera, a moment also reflected in real life in Poh Si Teng’s Sundance documentary American Doctor, which brings into question the act of filming while other hands are needed.
Al-Khatib has no mandate to deliver on a certain image of suffering: the film’s existence is ultimately evidence of its urgency. He takes his time to let conversations unfold between his characters, knowing that strife isn’t solely experienced during howls of agony. However, because of the brevity of the characters’ screen time as the film moves through the stories, it becomes difficult to connect to them outside of the very tan, sepia-toned siege environment. Regardless, Chronicles from the Siege serves as a reminder of the privilege of the Berlinale viewer – and to never stop talking about those under fire.
Chronicles from the Siege is an Algerian-French-Palestinian co-production staged by Issaad Film Productions and Evidence Films, and co-produced by 2 Princes Films. Its international sales are managed by Loco Films.
