Years ago, filmmaker Tawfik Sabouni was released from Saidnaya, the infamous Syrian prison known as “the other side of the sun”. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of Assad’s regime and the liberation of Syria’s prisons in December 2024, he returns to this site of detention to confront and reclaim the memory of his captivity.

This documentary film does not seek to reopen wounds, but to restore what systematic violence tried to erase: voices, stories, and humanity. Built on trust and collaboration, Sabouni invites four fellow survivors of Saidnaya to join him. Together, they return to the physical spaces of their imprisonment and engage in a carefully constructed reenactment of daily rituals, gestures, and moments of survival.

Filmed inside the former prison, reenactment becomes a means to express what language alone cannot contain. With restraint, “The Other Side of the Sun” confronts the viewer with the enduring marks of imprisonment, creating an experience that is profoundly unsettling and emotionally devastating. By giving presence to those who disappeared, the film bears witness for families still searching for answers and contributes to Syria’s effort to reckon with the legacy of its prisons.