The halt on President Donald Trump’s travel ban is great news for many of the foreign and immigrant partakers of the American film industry, including Hala Kamil.
Kamil, a Syrian mother of four, and her resettlement in Germany after ISIS kidnapped her husband in 2013, are the focus of Marcel Mettelsiefen’s documentary, Watani: My Homeland.
Mettelsiefen had followed the life of the family of refugees for three years as they lived in and later fled the war-struck city of Aleppo. Kamil’s husband, Abu Ali, had actively fought in the Free Syrian Army as a commander before he had been abducted by ISIS militants.
The short film’s Oscar nomination prompted an Academy Awards invite to Kamil, but the executive order for a travel ban included an indefinite ban on Syrians and left Kamil unsure of whether or not she would be able to attend.
However, a US district judge halted the ban two weeks ago and federal appeals panels from the 9th Circuit ruled to maintain the ruling, allowing travelers like Kamil to enter the US.
“When I heard that I might have the opportunity of attending the Oscars to represent ‘Watani: My Homeland,’ I felt incredibly proud and happy but bittersweet,” read a part of Kamil’s statement. “To think that over three years after I last saw my husband, I’ll be traveling to that same ceremony we watched together, brings tears to my eye”.
The full statement can be found and read on Variety.
#Peace.Love.TravelBan
