Netflix Congratulates Oscar Winners for Short Documentary THE WHITE HELMETS

By: Caryn Robbins Feb. 27, 2017

Netflix has released the following statement congratulating their first Academy Award winners - the filmmakers behind the short documentary THE WHITE HELMETS.

Netflix congratulates Joanna Natasegera and Orlando Von Einsiedel for a well deserved Oscar win for The White Helmets, an incredibly timely documentary focusing on the bravery of Syrian humanitarians. A first for Netflix, we are privileged to have been on this journey with these inspirational storytellers since their nomination for Virunga, and continue to be in awe of their efforts to shine a light on the work of real heroes.

The Netflix original short documentary THE WHITE HELMETS is set in Aleppo, Syria and Turkey in early 2016. As the violence intensifies, The White Helmets follows three volunteer rescue workers as they put everything on the line to save civilians affected by the war, all the while wracked with worry about the safety of their own loved ones.

Moving and inspiring, The White Helmets (by Oscar-nominated © team Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara) is both a snapshot of the harrowing realities of life for ordinary Syrians who remain in the country, and a humbling portrait of the power of the human spirit.

The film premiered this past weekend at the Telluride Film Festival and will have its international premiere at the 2016 TIFF. The White Helmets launched globally on Netflix on September 16, 2016.