Orwa Alahmad’s short documentary makes a collection of brief stories and experiences of the Syrian refugees who live in Europe. They’re scared and marginalized at every step and some of them are far away from their families. The nowadays society sees all of them as terrorists. People are not willing to accept them so easily and it’s hard for them to find a job and to be treated or have the same rights as the others.

​

The opening scene unfolds with a comparison between a refugee and a mouse. A woman speaks about how she was roaming around the streets when she saw a mouse. She got scared and started screaming, but at a second thought, she realized that the mouse itself is also a living creature and has all the rights to be in the same place as her, even if it looks different. Their new home doesn’t give them the hope for a bright future and some of them even think of committing suicide. People tell breathtaking stories about how they got beaten or welcomed, and maybe that’s where the title "Salty Memory " comes from.

​

This film subtly hides multiple thought-provoking themes, but it doesn’t really excel in terms of filmmaking. Moreover, it doesn’t offer that much substance in order to obtain a dramatic effect, but it could be a great start for a longer length documentary. All in all, we loved the honesty of the film and we would be truly interested in seeing a next episode about the lives of these people.

​

Even if it is a short documentary, the message of this film manages to reach the audience’s hearts, leaving them wondering about how hard it is for the refugees to integrate in our modern, yet full of prejudice society. We really appreciated this short civic lesson and we are glad that this film was made. We encourage the style of Orwa Alahmad and hope to see deeper, more facetted versions of it in his future projects.