'We care about telling our people's story:' White Helmets head to the Oscars for Last Men in Aleppo

Members of the SyrianCivil Defence groupare heading to the Oscars, where their film Last Men in Aleppois nominated for best feature documentary.

"We were very happy to be nominated," KhaledKhatib, a member of the volunteer emergency responsegroup and one of the film's producers, told CBCNews in a Skype call from Istanbul earlier this week.

After years of documenting the efforts of the WhiteHelmets (as the group is also known)in war-ravaged regions of Syria,Khatibis slated to get some respite from the chaos this weekend in Hollywood.

This marksthe group's second time in the Oscars spotlight.

Last year, British filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel's The White Helmetswon the Academy Award for best short subject documentary.However, due to complications with their travel visas,Khatib who worked as a cinematographeron that film and others on the crewwere unable to attend.

This year, members of the group hadagain planned to travel to Los Angeles, but Khatibis among the few who secured a travel visa.

Awards spotlight

Last Men in Aleppo, directed byFeras Fayyad, made history this year as the first Syrian-directed and producedfilm ever nominated for an Oscar.

The documentary, which won a 2017 Sundancegrand jury prize and honours from other film festivals, follows five White Helmetvolunteers as they go about their daily lives in war-torn Aleppo.

Khatibsaid he understands viewers may findwatchingLast Men in Aleppotough the film features grisly scenes ofbombing rescues and recovery efforts but "the idea behind this documentary is to show the situation we live with in Syria."

About five years ago, Khatibbegan volunteering with the White Helmets at the age of 17. He recorded daily rescues and posted them on the group's YouTubepage as a way to share who they were and what their jobs entailed.That desire to spreadawareness became the driving force behind the group's documentary work.

Though Last Men in Aleppo is filled with scenes of pain, Khatibadded, the documentary also reveals glimmers of hope like therescue of an infant pulled alive from the rubble.

For the documentary's creators, attending the Academy Awards is much more than an excuse to wear a tuxedoand hobnob with Hollywood's elite, according toKhatib.What matters is the message they're bringing to the red carpet.

"We don't care about the award," he said. "We care about telling our people's story."