Syrian Documentary, ‘For Sama,’ Bags Oscar Nomination

Syrian documentary, 'For Sama,' is nominated for an Oscar award. (Twitter)
Syrian documentary, 'For Sama,' is nominated for an Oscar award. (Twitter)
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Syrian Documentary, ‘For Sama,’ Bags Oscar Nomination

Syrian documentary, 'For Sama,' is nominated for an Oscar award. (Twitter)
Syrian documentary, 'For Sama,' is nominated for an Oscar award. (Twitter)

Syrian documentary, “For Sama”, was nominated for an Academy Award on Monday.

The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers, Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts.

It is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her.

“For Sama” was awarded the Prix L’Œil d’Or for Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival

It will be competing for the Oscar alongside “American Factory”; “The Cave”; “The Edge of Democracy” and “Honeyland.”

The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at a star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles on February 9.



Wildfires Force Evacuation of Visitors and Staff at 2 National Parks in US West

This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
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Wildfires Force Evacuation of Visitors and Staff at 2 National Parks in US West

This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)
This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)

Visitors and staff at two national parks in the US West have been evacuated because of wildfires.

Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Denver, closed Thursday morning after lighting sparked blazes on both the North Rim and South Rim of the Black Canyon, the park said.

The wildfire has burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), with no containment of the perimeter.

The conditions there have been ripe for wildfire with hot temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation, the park said, adding that weather will remain a concern Friday.

The Grand Canyon's North Rim in Arizona also closed Thursday because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby.

The fire began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area, fire officials said. It has burned about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) with zero containment.