The White Helmets

The White Helmets (2016) is a short documentary you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. Forty minutes, no reconstruction: the camera follows Syrian Civil Defence volunteers running toward buildings that airstrikes have just brought down.

The volunteers — known as the White Helmets — operate in conditions where most people cannot function at all. Raed Saleh, who leads the organisation, speaks on camera matter-of-factly about what the job asks of a person. The film picked up the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 2017 ceremony. Stream The White Helmets (2016) online on iFILM.