Moving between Zabaltani, Dawaila, Saydnaya, and all the way to Istanbul, Ahmed Aswad - a tailor on a sewing machine - tells the story of his life as it appears to him, a life full of transformations and first experiences: the beginning of falling in love, traveling, and planning a murder.
In a special language that may seem neutral, but it is sarcastic and full of emotion, Wassim Al-Sharqi explores forgotten corners of the lives of a marginalized segment of Syrians before 2011, such as: smugglers on the Lebanese border, or sewing factory workers, and patrons of bodybuilding clubs and bars in old Damascus.
“Black” is a journey to delve into the motivations and drivers that direct people’s behavior and destinies, and an attempt to trace the source of the blackness that surrounds our lives and settles in our souls, difficult to disappear.
Between a complex reality and an unattainable dream... between the eternal wheel of time and patience that is about to run out.
. You stand with your hands folded, exhausted with strength, with your eyes closed, barely listening to the groans of those lost in the darkness of existence, shackled in the desolation of the universe, immersed in the depths of confusion. Your eyes move inside two confused eyeballs, and your tears shed slowly... and soon they meet the heat of your body... and dry up in moments. Your heart stops speaking the truth, unable to describe people who are squeezing pain with every sigh, and floundering between false truths and consciences destroyed by the disappointments of fate. A world in which tones mix with screams, and eyes shine with their paleness, searching for a safe haven that resembles the paradise of eternity... evading brutally stabbing glances, and silence surrounded by explosive cords... You are still here, feeling the way to reach clarity of mind and purity of memory, selecting from your mind what makes you steal away... Life is a smile, and from the paintings is a drawing, and from the wooden shelves is a book called “Love.” It is the messy word in the minds of lovers. Decades have passed like summer clouds and none of them understood its complete truth. The love that sweeps through your body in three seconds, controlling the entire control panel of your head... to guide you to... A complete relationship guides you to marriage... to taking responsibility, understanding feelings, enduring problems, and making sacrifices.
