This French film takes a look at Syria during the 1970’s. Syria is an area that has been thrusted into conflict for much of its history. Military conflicts began in 1948 and continued into the 2000’s. A 1963 Coup and the Hamas riots of 1964 further unsettled the area. It opens with images of Syrian refugee camps. Sources of friction include historical ideology among others. Tents and clothing lines appear (:40). Syrians appear dressed in winter clothes and the traditional kaffiyeh. A cat wanders the camp grounds (1:04). Youth cluster in front of the camera (1:14). A woman makes flat cakes on the ground (1:28). Locals purchase fresh fruit goods outside a small tin shack (1:32). A UNRWA truck appears delivering foods (1:39). The UNRWA is a UN agency dedicated specifically to helping refugees. Syrians await the truck; one man stands on a bicycle (1:50). The camera moves through the tents with a ground view (2:02). A panoramic shot shows the expanse of the refugee camp with Syrian refuges moving through (2:47). A rusted Mercedes L 326 appears (3:15). The camera pans over to graffiti on the wall (3:17) meaning ‘Revolution until Victory’. This is the slogan of the PLO. The Palestine Liberation Organization was formed in 1964 under the control of Arab States. Syrian pamphlets appear (3:26). One of the seven gates appears inside the historic walls of Bab Tuma (3:29). This is an area in the Old City of Damascus. A covered military jeep rolls by (3:39). A motorcyclists bends around the corner (3:48). A red Mercedes Benz W189 follows (3:51). The PLO slogan appears again (3:58). Hafez al-Assad speaks (4:04). Assad led the Corrective Revolution also known as the 1970 Coup. Vehicles move in front the of People’s Assembly Building (4:21). A banner in Syriac hangs across the gate (4:29). The camera moves up the steps of the building (4:37). Hafez appears again (5:22); he and his new regime emphasized building socialism within the country. Another signs hangs on the terrace of an apartment home (5:28). A ballot for the Arab Socialist party appears (5:38). A member of the party types at a typewriter (5:44). A newspaper printing press pumps out articles (5:46). News and propaganda travelled across television and radio (6:29). What appears to be militant training follows (6:49) as three men walk with machine guns and another walks with his jacket lit aflame (6:58). A PLA soldier lights his own hand aflame and sticks it under dirt to put it out (7:06). Pedestrians and militants watch (7:15). The same man relights his hand (7:22) and plummets it into a bucket of water. A soldier lays on the ground with his back on fire as another tosses a blanket over to put it out (7:31). Weapons such as machine guns (7:40) are taken apart and cleaned during weapons training. Male (8:02) and female (8:04) soldiers practice drills. Female soldiers partake in weapons training (8:13). A female soldier has her head wrapped in gauze (8:35). A pit is set aflame (8:52). Fire extinguishers are used to put the flames out (9:09). Students recite passages in class (9:18). Physical training exercises follow (9:32). Combat training continues over an obstacle course (9:57). A tank frame is pictured (10:52). Forces stand at attention in front of two tanks in the Syrian Desert (10:55). Plane assembly follows (11:45). The MIG-21 appears (12:12). The flag is zoomed in on the tail (12:29). Soldiers relax during recreation time (12:53). Pilots run for the MIG-21 (13:09). The pilot climbs into the cockpit and straps in (13:20). The craft shoots down the runway (13:47). A pair takes to the skies (13:56). A parachute pops from the tail (14:36) as it touches back down. Melted rubble of an aircraft follows (14:53). Graffiti is sprayed onto it (15:01). Black and white footage of bombed out crafts follow (15:24). Military officials meet including a 4 star general (15:57). Black and white footage shows prisoners receive medical attention in their cells (18:51). Soldiers are asked their names (19:06). The Captain is zoomed in on (19:10). A lieutenant sits to his right (19:19). They are interrogated in English (20:03) as French is spoken over. They are questioned over their birthplaces and relatives (20:21). A few were born in Israel (21:01). They are questioned about whether or not they had been wounded in action (21:34).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com