Independent Films : Syrian Cinema

Syrian Cinema

I've been trying to watch at least one great film for each country in the Middle East and am now on Syria. Is anyone here familiar with the cinema of this nation? I'd love to get some recommendations, as it doesn't seem that Syria has yielded as many noteworthy releases as countries like Turkey, Iran, or even some of the Caucusus states like Georgia and Armenia.

The only seemingly noteworthy titles that I've been able to uncover are The Leopard (1972) by Nabil Maleh - not to be confused with the 1963 Italian film - and the works of Mohammad Malas. The Leopard can be found on YouTube, although I gave up on trying to watch it no more than a minute or two in, as the subtitles seemed to be less than professionally translated. As for Malas, I haven't done an extensive search for any of his titles yet, but it doesn't seem as though any of his work has been made readily available.

Has anyone here ever seen a film by either of these directors? Or more generally, can anyone recommend a good Syrian film?
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