According to scientists based at Wuhan University in China, 83 percent of lights have gone out in Syria since the beginning of the conflict there. So, with the fourth anniversary coming up on March 15th, agency Don’t Panic teamed up with production partners UNIT9 for a new PSA entitled “Afraid of the Dark.”
The heartrending video opens on a Syrian boy reading with a flashlight at bedtime, with text revealing the year to be 2011. His father tells him it’s time for bed and reassures him not to worry about the loud noises outside. Flashing forward to present day, the boy uses the same flashlight to look for survivors in a bombed out building. The video ends with the message: “83 % of the lights have gone out across Syria. Help us turn them back on.”
“It is a literal truth that 83% of Syria’s lights have gone out since the start of the war, but the darkness that afflicts them has a metaphorical truth that goes deeper,” explained Richard Beer, creative director of Don’t Panic, in a statement. “We wanted to use this shocking statistic to tell the story of just how far Syria has fallen into darkness, in every conceivable way, despite UN resolutions and international outcry.”
The video is just art of an international campaign launched by #withSyria, a coalition of humanitarian and human rights organisations from around the world, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, International Rescue Committee, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). #withSyria launched a global petition alongside the video, calling on world leaders to “Turn the lights back on in Syria.”
Credits:
Director: Greg&Jacob
Creative: Richard Beer
Exec Producer: Michelle Craig
Producers: Gabriele Lo Giudice & Nick Rowell
Production Manager: Eamonn hearns
1st Assistant Director: Emma Pounds
Director of Photograpy: Carl Burke
Location Manager: Ben hopkins
Focus Puller: Job Reineke
2nd Camera Assistant: Barney Batchelor
Grip: Peter Muncey
Art Director: Lee Wilkinson
Assistant Art Director: Johanna Gulcz
Assistant Art Director: Carl Walters
Gaffer: Johnny Franklin
Spark: Craig Palmer
Spark: Aaron Bartlett
Sound Recordist: Frank Barlow
Sound Design: Mark Adair
Editor: Jacob Proud
DIT: Will Walsh
Colourist: Simon Astbury
Costume Designer: Jessica Lawless
Hair & Make-up: Lolly Temple-Mills
Rigger: Kevin Sterling
Storyboards: Sarah Jones
Cast:
Khalid 13: Issac Rodriguez-Mendes
Dad: Sherif Eltayeb
Khalid 17: Alexander Yousri
Girl: Yasmin Abdou
Voices:
Khalid 13: Omar Eltayeb
Khalid 17: Sami Kamir
2nd Unit:
DOP: Jonathan IIes
Focus Puller: Chris Dodds
2nd Assistant Camera: Jayson hunte
Gaffer: George Edwards
Spark: Cade
DIT: Alex Burt