MTV Documentary Films will release Death Without Mercy (working title), a new film from the Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy®-winning filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab (For Sama, We Dare to Dream) that explores the devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey that struck nearly one year ago. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than a century, killing more than 50,000 people, and as the filmmaker shows, was both a natural disaster and a human-made disaster.
Release Date
Directed by Waad Al-Kateab, Death Without Mercy opens in theaters on May 3; and premieres on Paramount+ later this year.
Synopsis
On February 6th, 2023 at 4:17 am local time, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and north eastern Syria. In a matter of minutes large parts of the southern Turkish cities of Antakya, Gaziantep, and Hatay were in ruins, and tens of thousands lay dead under the rubble.
In the aftermath of the earthquake there was no universal effort to save the injured and the dying under the rubble. Civilians were forced to use their hands and shovels to dig up loved ones and strangers, while the world looked the other way. Faulty constructions, criminal permissions, plus the lack of rescue efforts, caused the unnecessary death of 50,000, many of which could have been saved.
With access to incredible CCTV footage from above ground, remarkable first-person documentary footage from under the rubble, extensive verité footage (some recorded on cell phones), drone footage, news and archival footage, Death Without Mercy (working title) is chronologically assembled from the reports of hundreds of newscasters, cameramen, and civilians representing the days following this tragic event.
The film is built on the experiences of two Syrian families, following them over the course of 10 days after the disaster, as they piece together the tragedy and uncover revelations about the corruption, lies and government incompetence that exacerbated the disaster and its response.
The families of Fadi al-Halabi (the lead cinematographer of the Oscar-winning documentary The White Helmets) and Fuad are emblematic of so many of the stories from southern Turkey where many Syrian refugee families had fled to start new lives only to find their lives dramatically affected by the earthquake. Each was away on work travels when the earthquake struck and the film follows them as they race back home to try to locate their family members. Their stories include miraculous survivors as well as the horrific tragedies.
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Death Without Mercy