Witness:

In November 2011, as armed conflict raged in Syria, a young acting troupe called Masasit Mati launched a ground-breaking, finger-puppet show: Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator, which mocks the Syrian regime in ways never seen in public before.

Living in exile, the four actors in Masasit Mati broadcast their show online, attracting a growing audience and positive reviews around the world.

But Top Goon’s success puts the actors themselves in danger and the widening split in Syria between those who favour a peaceful resolution and those prepared to use armed force mirrors that within the troupe itself.

Lead writer Arwa is determined to stick to his message of non-violent resistance. The show’s actors, the Malas Brothers, support the Free Syrian Army and are increasingly vocal in their demands for violent revenge upon the regime.

Jameel, the show’s director, struggles to reconcile these diametrically opposing viewpoints while trying to raise funds to get a second series off the ground.

A remarkable film that explores the conflicts besetting millions of ordinary Syrians as their country edges into bloody civil war.

To find out more visit: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/08/2012820111648774405.html

Text reposted from Aljazeera.com. Image reposted from Norient.com.

Nyrabia graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus in 1999. He participated at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 for his lead-role in the film “The Gate of the Sun” by Yousry Nasrallah which was based on the Lebanese Elias Khoury’s novel.

Nyrabia works as a film producer and is one of the founders of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival held in Syria. The festival was initially launched during “Damascus: Arab Capital of Culture” festivity in 2008 under the patronage of the National Film Organization up till 2011.

Nyrabia contributed in several Arab and International collaborations and networks to support the documentary film industry in his country and the rest of Arab Region. He was honored as a member of the jury at international film festivals including Ibn Rushd in Tehran and in Amsterdam, Leipzig and Copenhagen among others.

Photo reposted from NewYorker.com