we will live to see these things, or, five pictures of what may come to pass

We will live to see these things... is a documentary video in five parts about competing visions of an uncertain future. Shot in 2005/06 in Damascus, Syria, the work combines fiction and non-fiction. Each section of the piece--the chronicle of a building in downtown Damascus, an interview with a dissident intellectual, documentation of an equestrian event, the fever dream of a U.S. policymaker, and a portrait of a Qur'an school for young girls--offers a different perspective on what might come to pass in a place where people live between the competing forces of a repressive regime, a growing conservative Islamic movement, and intense pressure from the United States. Produced and directed by Julia Meltzer Written and directed by David Thorne Music and sound design by Chris Kubick Edited by Catherine Hollander Camera by Raed Sandeed