AsaadMMXXVI

A woman standing before memorial flags, overlooking Derna

DERNA

A city between memory and renewal.

Documentary PromoDerna, Libya00:60

Cinematography, Interviews & B-Roll · Edited by Asaad

Witnessing a City in Transition

Filmed on location in Derna, this promo captures a city carrying the weight of what happened while continuing to move forward.

Through intimate interviews and observational B-roll, the film moves between personal memory, the physical traces left across the city, and the quiet signs of rebuilding.

I filmed the interviews and documentary B-roll on location, then shaped the material through editing into a compressed emotional journey — letting faces, spaces and contrasts carry the story without over-explaining it.

Watch the Film

DERNA — Documentary Promo

00:60 MinDocumentaryOn LocationInterviews & B-Roll

The Approach

From memory to continuity.

01

The City Remembers

The story begins with people. Faces, voices and silences establish the human memory of Derna before the wider scale of the city is revealed.

Interview portrait of an older man in Derna — Interview — testimony

02

At Ground Level

The camera moves into the streets. Wide landscapes reveal the scale of what changed, while smaller details keep the experience personal and immediate.

Aerial view across Derna and its surrounding hills — Aerial — the scale of the city

03

What Continues

The film does not end with destruction. Rebuilding, movement and everyday life gradually enter the frame — a city defined by what it continues to become.

Visual Language

Type

Documentary Promo

Location

Derna, Libya

Role

Cinematography, Interviews & B-Roll, Editing

Approach

Observational filming, natural light, no staging

Edit

Compressed one-minute emotional journey

Focus

Memory, impact and continuity in a single city

Process

Location Research
Interviews
Observational B-Roll
Selects
Edit
Final Promo

A young man in traditional dress, seated in an open landscape — Portrait — cultural identity

A young man looking out over the changed riverbed — Witness

A road split open beside collected debris

A damaged residential building on a street corner

Interior detail seen through a broken wall opening — Detail — what stayed behind

A child in a graduation gown lifting his cap — Everyday life, continuing

Two figures walking past a white mosque under open sky — Movement, morning

On Location

Behind the Film

DERNA was shaped through direct observation on location. Moving through the city, filming its people and witnessing its contrasts firsthand became an essential part of how the final story was captured and edited.

Working closely with the director and creative director, I filmed the interviews and observational B-roll before shaping the material into the final documentary promo.

Asaad working behind the cameras with the production team in Derna — Behind the camera during production in Derna.

Seated on a hillside between locations, looking out over the landscape — Between locations, observing the landscape.

Portrait on location in Derna, Libya, framed between pine branches — On location in Derna, Libya.

Derna under open sky

Derna remains more than the event that changed it.It remains a living city — remembering, rebuilding and continuing.

Credits

Director: Ibrahim Gad
Creative Director: Ibrahim Hassouna
Cinematography, Interviews & B-Roll: Asaad
Editor: Asaad
Location: Derna, Libya