Al-Lajat refers to the basaltic and arid earth typical of the Suweydah region in Syria. Al-Lajat is also a place where characters are animated with deep yearning for love and freedom: an orphaned girl who begs the moon to bring her happiness; a young teacher finds a long yearned-for embrace in her companionship; and an old aunt, burdened by her own tragic story, fears that her loved ones may have to relive it. The film is a richly evocative visual mosaic, where characters hold onto personal rituals accumulated with the passage of time.

Directed by: Riyad Shayya
Script: Mamdouh Azzam, Riyad Shayya
Based on the novel The Ascent of Death by Mamdouh Azzam
Camera: Abdo Hamzeh
Editing: Antoinette Azriyeh
Cast: Hanan Shqeir, Thana’ Dibsi, Lina el-Bate‘, Adham al-Hajri, Fuad al-Rashid
Production: General Organization for Cinema, Syria

Born in the Suweiday region in Syria in 1954, Riyad Shayya studied at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) where he directed a short documentary that reflected on the destiny of one of the figures involved in the Syrian revolution and a short fiction film. Al-Lajat (1995) is his first and only fiction feature to date.