We Dare to Dream Screening and Q&A

Waad Alkateab is a Syrian activist and award-winning filmmaker. She became a citizen journalist in 2011, after protests broke out across Syria against the Assad regime, and in January 2016 she began documenting the horrors of Aleppo for Channel 4 News in a series titled, “Inside Aleppo,” which received an International Emmy for breaking news coverage. Waad’s first feature documentary, For Sama, documented her life over five years in Aleppo. The film, directed with Edward Watts, received worldwide critical acclaim, winning numerous awards, including the Prix L'Œil d'or for best documentary at Cannes Film Festival, Best Documentary at the BAFTAs and a nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the 2020 Academy Awards.

In 2021 Waad was commissioned by the IOC to work on a new documentary covering the Olympic Refugee Team, working for XTR alongside Oscar-winning producer Joanna Natasegara. We Dare To Dream had its world premiere in June 2023 at Tribeca Film Festival, it was the recipient of the Grand Prize Documentary Award at the Heartland International Film Festival, and is set to premiere in the UK in November 2023, followed by a theatrical release. The film follows refugee athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon in their steadfast journey to the summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Waad has received several personal recognitions for her work as an activist and filmmaker, including the IDA Courage Under Fire Award and a place in the 2020 Time100 List of Most Influential People. Waad, who resides in London with her family, continues to run her advocacy campaign Action For Sama, to raise the voices of Syrians on the ground and seek accountability for the war crimes committed by the Syrian and Russian regimes.

Ahmad Al-Rashid was born in Aleppo, Syria. He studied English literature before fleeing the country due to the conflict to the Kurdistan region of Iraq late 2012. Ahmad worked there as a volunteer teaching English in the Syrian refugee camps. In mid-2013 he joined UNICEF to work for both the Syrian refugee response and the Iraqi displaced people response after Mosul fell for ISIS in 2014. Since his arrival in the UK mid-2015, Ahmad has been working with various groups and organizations raising awareness about the Syrian crisis and the plight of refugees in the region and beyond. In 2017, Ahmad graduated from SOAS – University of London. He holds an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development. He works for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the UK, leading the team of cross-cultural facilitators, supporting refugee integration in communities across the country.