The Producers

Paul Refsdal, 52, is a freelance journalist who has spent more than three decades covering conflict around the world; he has previously reported from a dozen rebel groups in countries like Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Peru, Chechnya, Afghanistan, etc. Dugma was filmed over the course of two trips to Syria.

Making The Film

Refsdal was in a village in the northern Syria province of Aleppo when he heard an explosion. Camera in hand, he jumped into a minibus driven by a fighter from the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, to inspect the damage. A U.S.-led coalition airstrike had hit a base in the town, leaving at least 10 people dead. A civilian speaks angrily into Refsdal's camera, saying the airstrike has targeted civilian homes and killed innocent people. A Nusra fighter interrupts: “"Easy now. There is both a military base and civilians here. Tell the truth", he says, before adding that the blast'’s intended target was a Nusra base. Refsdal understood the implicit message from the Al-Qaeda member: Film what you want—, we'’re not going to feed you propaganda. To his surprise, Refsdal found that the group remained committed to letting a Western journalist film the fighters openly and without censorship. Refsdal spent a total of six weeks embedded with the Nusra fighters.