50 Feet from Syria

Director Skye Fitzgerald travels with Hisham Bismar, a Texas-based Syrian-American orthopedic surgeon, as he returns to the Middle East to help those injured by the Syrian War (Fitzgerald doesn't name the surgeons with whom he works, in order to avoid reprisals). During Bismar's first trip back in 30 years, he leaves behind his American wife and children. In Turkey, he operates out of a hospital 50 feet from the Syrian border, offering—along with his colleagues—his services on a volunteer basis. His patients include Mohammed, a member of the Free Syrian Army, who has lost mobility in a hand. Mohammad describes himself as a freedom fighter and not a terrorist. Most of the doctor's other patients suffer from similar injuries to hands and feet. Many also have scarring due to shrapnel and shell blasts, such as 5-year-old Abdullah, who has burns on his arms, legs, and back. As one surgeon notes, "Most of our casualties are children." Fitzgerald also interviews hospital staffers and other helpers. One Turkish businessman, who uses his car as a makeshift ambulance, says that "this work gives me joy." He takes pride in the fact that he has never had to bribe border guards; instead, he carefully chooses his words to them—appealing to God if they appear to be Christian, or Allah if they seem to be Muslim. 50 Feet from Syria does contain some graphic imagery, although it is on par with many other documentaries concerning the ongoing effects of war. Offering a sobering if cautiously hopeful look at humanitarians working on the border of Syria, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)