Oscar Plans Are Back On for Syrian Subjects of Nominated Films

Photo

The Syrian stars of two Oscar-nominated films will travel to the Academy Awards after all, representatives said, now that President Trump’s travel ban has been lifted.

Raed Saleh — the leader of a Syrian civilian rescue group and a subject of the documentary short that bears the group’s name, “The White Helmets” — will be on the red carpet and attend the ceremony on Feb. 26. With him will be his fellow rescuer Khaled Khatib, who also worked as a cinematographer on the film, which has been nominated for best documentary short. Financed by Western governments, the White Helmets have saved the lives of more than 75,000 Syrians, pulling them from the rubble of bombed-out buildings and administering emergency first aid.

Hala Kamil, a Syrian refugee and mother of four now living in Germany, will also be attending the awards now, too. Mrs. Kamil and her children fled Syria after her husband was kidnapped by the Islamic State. Their ordeal is captured in “Watani: My Homeland,” which is also up for best documentary short.

In a statement, Mrs. Kamil said she would be attending the ceremony with a heavy heart, as she and her husband, who is presumed dead, made a ritual out of watching the Oscars each year. “But to be reminded of what I have lost is also a reminder of what I have held on to: my children,” she said.

The filmmakers of both documentaries said they had always intended to bring their subjects to the Oscars. But those plans were upended when Mr. Trump signed an executive order last month banning visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria. This month, federal courts blocked the ban, though Mr. Trump suggested at a news conference on Thursday that he might issue a new order next week.

Mr. Khatib, the cinematographer, is hurrying to get on a flight to the United States before another potential travel ban. Attending the Oscars, Mr. Khatib said in a statement, would help not only broadcast the urgency of Syrians’ plight, but also bring hope to his beleaguered countrymen back home.

“I do this work because I believe if the world understands the suffering of my people, they will be moved to stop it, to stand with us on the side of life,” he said. “The White Helmets have a motto taken from the Quran: ‘To save a life is to save all humanity.’”