Notes From Aleppo follows photographer Issa Touma’s rediscovery of his home city. Forced to leave in 2012, Issa traveled back and forth to Syria until East Aleppo was retaken by the regime in December 2016. Notes From Aleppo shows the people who are returning and those who never left. In a sincere, insightful way, Issa reveals the struggles of Aleppo’s citizens in their attempt to restore normality in their day-to-day lives and recover from the destruction of war. He uncovers who is behind the reconstruction of the city—neither the regime nor foreign powers, but the citizens themselves. Their stories have gone largely unnoticed by international media. Yet the war has created an independent new generation of Aleppans, who no longer take traditional structures for granted.
Photography/video/interviews: Issa Touma
Editor: Bas Vroege
Story editor: Lys Romero
Story editor: Tan Tunali
Visual editor: Thomas Vroege
Graphic designer: Marcel C. de Vries
Translator: Noushig Wartan
Translator: Nouhad Awwad
Translator: Susan Osman
Translator/editor English: Herman te Loo
Interactive concept: Wouter Vroege
Made possible with the support of: Mondriaan Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, NL Film Fonds, Slices