‘In Reverse’ video

Believing that organisations are more effective and impactful when working in coordination, Crisis Action brought together a group of international organisations under the #WithSyria banner.

The Syria Campaign was asked by #WithSyria to take the lead on the production of a piece of content that could elevate the issue of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets. We partnered with the award-winning British director Martin Stirling and Unit 9 productions to produce a film called ‘In Reverse’.

The film was released in 2014 at a time when more than two-thirds of Syrian civilian casualties were due to airstrikes. Despite this, there was very little international awareness or engagement on the issue although Syrian journalists were doing heroic reporting on the ground. Aerial attacks are also difficult to communicate in a way that does not make people switch off in horror.

Investing in a high-budget creative film was designed to target mainstream public audiences in Europe and the US with an emotional message. The hope was that the film would encourage viewers to call on their governments to act to protect civilians.

To date, ‘In Reverse’ has received close to 950,000 views on YouTube and generated many comments as well. It was also covered by the Huffington Post, the Independent, ABC7, and Global Voices, and the film won an award for outstanding sound at the Hollywood Post Alliance Awards. The Huffington Post called it a “striking video” that “will stop you in your tracks”.

In terms of awareness, the film was effective in allowing #WithSyria to reach new audiences with the story of what was happening inside the country. It also won awards and attention from the creative industries. Despite this success, the film lacked the strong political analysis and focus on the action that most politically impactful campaigns have at their heart.