‘Children were wearing fake life jackets’: one Syrian family’s terrifying, 10-year journey

In 2015, two film-makers first met 11-year-old refugee Israa, forced to abandon Aleppo for a new life in Europe, along with her parents and siblings. None of them imagined what would come next

In 2015, an 11-year-old Syrian girl called Israa matter-of-factly explained how her family would survive if their dinghy sank crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece. Her father would grab her disabled sister; her mother would look after the baby. “And I,” said Israa, a huge smile lighting her face, “I know how to rescue myself.”

Wife-and-husband documentary-makers Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes met Israa while filming a BBC series, Exodus, about refugees trying to reach Europe. Their plan was to follow Israa and her family on their hazardous journey to Germany. But after Israa reached safety, the pair kept filming. Ten years in the making, their documentary, One in a Million, is extraordinary - with echoes of Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and the Up! series. We watch Israa grow up in front of our eyes, from a sunny-natured 11-year-old to a woman, married with a baby of her own.