‘Eternal Sentinel’ is a one-hour documentary exploring the impact of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and landmine explosions on journalists in the wars in Northern Syria and Iraq. Tabqa, Syria, 2017: A young British-Iranian filmmaker/photographer, Maryam Ashrafi, has just entered a building. She’s here to accompany a group of local media, Arab 24, as they wanted to interview a soldier, Adwan Hamze Ali, a survivor of the recent battle against ISIS when she stopped in her tracks. Only feet away, a massive explosion rocks the ground. When the dust clears, Maryam sees Adwan lying bleeding on the ground.
He has lost both his legs. He is breathing heavily and, it’s clear, is close to death. To go further, Maryam now knows, would be suicide. She stepped carefully out of the building with her fellow colleagues and Muhneed, the other fighter who went inside with them.
‘Since 9:58 on 20th May 2017, I have carried a heavy weight of guilt on my shoulders,’ says Maryam now. ‘Could I have saved him?’


Synopsis
“Eternal Sentinel” follows the journey of Maryam Ashrafi as she encounters journalists who have been wounded or who have witnessed deadly incidents involving mines and IEDs in Iraq and Syria and, in so doing, tries to come to terms with her own trauma and guilt while raising awareness of the ongoing consequences of war.