10 Best Movies Set in or About Syria

10 Movies Set in or About Syria

Foreign-led films whose sustained setting or subject remains centered on Syria.

1. 

   1. The Syrian Bride

   הכלה הסורית · 2004

   In a Druze village on the Golan Heights, a young bride prepares to marry a man across the militarized Israeli-Syrian border, knowing that once she crosses she can never return home. A poignant, wry drama of borders and family.

2. 

   2. Insyriated

   2017

   Trapped inside her apartment as war rages and a sniper waits outside, a mother struggles through a single harrowing day to shield her family and the neighbors sheltering with her. A tense, claustrophobic drama.

3. 

   3. A Syrian Love Story

   2015

   Filmed over five years, this documentary follows a Syrian couple — a former political prisoner and a revolutionary activist — through revolution, exile, and the slow unraveling of their marriage. An intimate epic of hope and heartbreak.

4. 

   4. The Man Who Sold His Skin

   الرجل الذي باع ظهره · 2020

   To reach Europe and the woman he loves, a Syrian refugee agrees to let a famous artist tattoo his back and turn him into a living, exhibited artwork — trading his freedom for a visa. A sharp, provocative satire on art, migration, and commodification.

5. 

   5. The Last Fort

   Das letzte Fort · 1928

   Three men are tasked with defending a lonely outpost in the Syrian desert against advancing French forces, and tensions boil over when a young Frenchwoman comes between them. A silent desert adventure.

6. 

   6. The Thief of Damascus

   Il ladro di Damasco · 1963

   A daring thief schemes against the corrupt governor of Syria and the might of Rome, robbing the powerful and outwitting his enemies. A colorful Italian adventure romp.

7. 

   7. Escape from Raqqa

   Exfiltrés · 2019

   When a young French mother takes her small son to Syria to join ISIS and realizes too late the nightmare she has entered, her desperate husband and a network of contacts scramble to smuggle them out of Raqqa. A tense thriller based on true events.

8. 

   8. Rabia

   2024

   Lured by the promise of a new life, two young French women travel to Syria to join ISIS, only to find themselves imprisoned in a women's house ruled by a charismatic, ruthless overseer. A chilling drama of radicalization and captivity.

9. 

   9. Sirocco

   1951

   A cynical American gunrunner in 1920s Damascus is caught between French colonial forces and Syrian rebels, playing all sides for profit until his conscience — and a woman — complicate things. A hard-boiled adventure drama starring Humphrey Bogart.

10. 

    10. Damascus Time

    به وقت شام · 2018

    Two Iranian pilots undertake a dangerous mission to rescue civilians trapped by extremists in a besieged Syrian city, facing betrayal and impossible choices along the way. An Iranian war action drama.