September 6, 2012
Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford made the following statement about the disappearance of Orwa Nyrabia, the Syrian producer and director of the DOX BOX documentary film festival, on August 23, 2012 as he waited to board a plane from Damascus to Cairo:
“The Directors Guild of America joins together with the international film community in expressing our serious concern over the disappearance of filmmaker Orwa Nyrabia two weeks ago.
“A society or government that fails to protect an artist’s freedom to express his or her creative vision without fear of censorship, retribution or government reprisal is surely one in which respect for liberty, civil and human rights is similarly tenuous. We call for Nyrabia’s immediate and safe release along with any other filmmakers and other artists who have been detained and prohibited from full freedom of expression.”