Sara Kontar

A Syrian artist, photographer, and filmmaker based in France since 2016. Her work explores themes of exile, identity, and immigration, drawing from her own experience as a refugee. Using documentary and experimental photography, installation, video, and cinema, she examines the personal and collective dimensions of displacement. She holds a Master’s in Animation Cinema from ENSAD Paris (2023).

Her archival project “Towards a Light” (2021–2022), exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo in 2024, uses texts and cyanotype prints to reflect on migration’s impact. “Therefore, I Cut” (2023), explores the connections between women in exile through the act of cutting hair, winning the Inge Morath Award by Magnum and exhibiting internationally. Her short documentary 3350 KM, recounting her separation from her father in Syria, was selected for international festivals and was a candidate for the European Film Academy Awards.

Through her projects, Kontar documents refugee stories, highlighting experiences of adaptation and belonging. Her work has been exhibited international venus such as Palais de Tokyo, Sharjah Art Foundation, and Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum. In 2021, she founded Al-Ayoun, a platform connecting Syrian visual storytellers through exhibitions, screenings, and workshops.