The Dancer 2025

Directed by Lacey Uhlemeyer

For Ahmad Joudeh, a stateless refugee from Syria, dance is not a choice, it’s a lifeline – etched onto his very skin with the words “Dance or Die.” Having defied war and family disapproval to join the Dutch National Ballet, Ahmad found sanctuary in the Netherlands, becoming a UNHCR and LGBTQI+ Ambassador. But haunted by the trauma of his past, he makes a perilous decision: to return to Syria for the first time since the war, risking everything to bring the healing power of dance to a community still ravaged by conflict.