Irish film directors Anne Daly and Ronan Tynan presented their documentary “Syria: The impossible revolution”, at a screening in DCU on Thursday 15 February. Following the screening Ann and Ronan engaged in a lively and in depth Q&A session with the audience. The screening was organised as part of the University of Sanctuary initiative and Dr Veronica Crosby and Dr Paola Rivetti also spoke on the night.

Syria: The Impossible Revolution, a film by Anne Daly and Ronan Tynan, seeks to unravel the roots and ‘complexities’ of the bloodiest conflict in the Middle East as well as the politics of the Western response.

Using extensive archive and interviews with a wide range of people directly involved as well as experts on the region, the documentary seeks to offer some understanding about a conflict that has plumbed new depths in terms of the toll it has exacted on civilians. Some suggest more than five hundred thousand are already dead, half the population have fled their homes and five millions are now refugees in Europe and neighbouring countries with little prospect of returning any time soon.