Omar Amiralay (1944-2011) was a pioneering Syrian documentary filmmaker, born in Damascus. He was noted for the strong political criticism in his films and played a prominent role in the events of the Damascus Spring of 2000. As a driving force of nonfiction auteur cinema, his work has influenced generations of filmmakers in the Arab world. His expansive filmography includes the trilogy Film Essay about the Euphrates Dam (1970), Everyday Life in a Syrian Village (1974), and A Flood in Baath Country (2005); the documentary On a Day of Ordinary Violence, My Friend Michel Seurat… (1996), on sociologist Michel Seurat who died in 1985 in Lebanon while held captive by the Islamic Jihadist Group; and the documentary The Man with the Golden Soles (1999), on then-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Harriri. Amiralay died in Damascus on February 5, 2011. His films continue to be banned in Syria.