A NEW documentary film about the revolution in Syria – Return To Homs – will be screened at City Screen York on Wednesday at 8.30pm, followed by a Q&A with the director, Talal Derki.

The film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and has been met with much critical acclaim.

The filmmakers believes this one-off showing is an opportunity for the people of York to see beyond the moderated snapshots broadcast by mainstream media, and offers a rare insight into the human experience of the Syrian conflict.

Talal Derki’s award-winning documentary follows 19-year-old goalkeeper-turned-insurgent, Abdul Basset, as he and a ragtag group of comrades fight to protect the captive inhabitants of the besieged city of Homs.

As one of the unlikely leaders of the Syrian rebellion, Basset has become something of a totemic figure, with Le Monde labelling him an “icon of the revolution”.

His protest songs and dark sense of humour reflect his dream of peaceful liberation from Assad’s oppressive regime, but when their hopeful uprising is met with violent resistance by government forces, he and his companions take up arms.

Trailing the fearless crew over a two-year period, this remarkable film sees the city Basset once knew and loved, deserted and torn apart beyond recognition.

As audacious hope turns to despair, Derki presents the real desperation behind the bloodied faces and waving rifles that have become Syria’s refrain.