Zaina Erhaim’s short film “I was here” won its first award, the Best Documentary Award at Top shorts, the world's leading online film festival. This festival showcases outstanding short films from around the world to an audience of film fans and filmmakers.

Produced by Bidayyat in 2018, “I was here” shows the filmmaker’s return to her hometown, Idlib, in 2015 after it fell in the hands of Al Fateh army which is a coalition of different fighters including Al-Qaeda affiliated ones.

After four years of no-see and forced displacement she finally returned to find that many things have changed, few people she knows are still there and the ones who are still there don’t recognize her because of her new Share’a dress code with a scarf and long coat.

The short film tells the summary of the town’s story that changed its authorities from a criminal regime to criminal jihadists.