‘Gay Girl’ Documentary Takes a Page from Our Book

The new Canadian documentary ‘Gay Girl in Damascus,’ which was well received at Sundance earlier this year and is now in theatrical release around the country, tells the strange story of Amina, a rebel activist in Syria whose posts during the Arab Spring made her a social media phenomenon. When she reported that she had been kidnapped and her Twitter feed went silent, the search for her went viral, led by the Canadian girlfriend she had never met in person. The story of what really happened — the story the documentary reports — is told in gripping, thriller-style narrative with all the stunning twists and turns and much more detail in the CUNY Journalism Press title ‘Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Journalism Revolution.’ Our book, by Andy Carvin, has been hailed as a new-media classic for his descriptions, told in real time, of showing the world how an international story, including rebellion and war, can be covered effectively via social media. See more about the book here.