Survival under siege, pushed to the limit: Arafat desperately struggles against hunger, isolation and exhaustion. Outside, friends seek shelter from the winter cold in openings between walls and stumble upon his abandoned video store. While Waleed pursues a small luxury that has long become unattainable, relief worker Fares attempts the impossible: despite the ever-present war and rigid social constraints, he and his friends fight for a brief, intimate moment with Huda. Meanwhile, heavily pregnant and seriously injured Farah struggles to survive alongside her husband Saleh.

Through interconnected episodes, Abdallah Alkhatib portrays everyday life under siege, where even the smallest desires become matters of survival. The film is inspired by his own experiences in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and won the GWFF Best First Feature Award at this year’s Berlinale.

Abdallah Alkhatib was born in Damascus/Syria in 1989 and grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk. He studied sociology and now lives in Germany, where he works as a filmmaker, writer and social researcher. His documentary film LITTLE PALESTINE: DIARY OF A SIEGE emerged from his own experiences during the siege of Yarmouk. CHRONICLES FROM THE SIEGE marks his fiction feature debut.

Filmography (selection): 2021 LITTLE PALESTINE: DIARY OF A SIEGE (documentary), 2023 SOKRANIA (short film), 2026 CHRONICLES FROM THE SIEGE

Awards: GWFF Best First Feature Award (Berlinale International Film Festival, Germany 2026)