A teenager from northern Iraq, Mediha is a member of the Yazidi ethnic and religious minority. She’s also the survivor of an ISIS-orchestrated genocide in 2014. Through video diaries, Mediha provides an intimate account of her grief and trauma. The portrait that emerges leaves us in awe of the budding activist, who has already lived many lives and is nowhere near done.
USA
DOC NYC
China
Shanghai International Film Festival(4K)
UK15
China
UK
USA
Part of my Top 10 Doc 2024
Doctober
- Human Rights Film Festival -
[Deutsch]
Nach der Befreiung aus den Händen des IS leben Mediha und ihre Brüder in einem Camp im kurdischen Nordirak. Nach dem Genozid an den Jesiden versucht die jesidische Community immer noch, gefangene Familienmitglieder von IS-Mitgliedern freizukaufen.
Wer schon Einiges zu diesem Thema weiß, wird nicht viel Neues erfahren. Empfohlen sind hierzu die Filme Angels of Sinjar und Daughters of the Sun. Allerdings gibt die Begleitung der „Rescuer“ bei ihrer Arbeit nochmal eine andere Ebene der Information. Viele gefangene Frauen wollen oder können nicht zurück, z. B. da die jesidische Gemeinschaft Kinder nicht akzeptieren wird, die in der Versklavung geboren wurden.
Was diesen Film so besonders…
gotta respect a film director who doesn’t want to just share trauma porn and actually cares for the people he works with, mad respect
Mediha, you're the bravest girl I know.
The testimonies and traumas told by Mediha and her brothers are heartbreaking enough, but what really gets you is that their eyes house souls aged 50 years ahead of their time, trapped in the bodies of children. Mediha's truly an incredible, extraordinarily brave fighter and I wish the rest of her and her family's lives all the peace and happiness they deserve.
“Look at the stars. I wouldn’t wish for a similar river full of diamonds while my family is still missing” Ghazwan
So moving and heartbreaking and raw. Major tears were shed. Got to hear the filmmaker speak about it afterwards also. Putting the power in her hands completely shaped the film and set it apart from a potentially trauma porn esque feature imo. Will be thinking about this for a while.
One of the best films I've seen in a while. It tells the important story of the Yazidi people, from the perspective of Mediha and her younger brothers. The film gave me a unique view into the realities of day to day life in the camps and the nuanced challenges that the Yazidis face today. I loved that the filming was shared between Mediha and Oswald - the whole movie was astoundingly done. Thank for you sharing this story,
I would have preferred the entire film to stay with Mediha and her brothers. That's what the film is first and foremost about, where the emotions are the rawest and the most honest, where Mediha takes the voice that the Yazidi women are denied. Some of the scenes of the rescuers meeting each other are pretty artificial; people don't say stuff like "that's only $120 USD" as the response in a conversion where they're talking coordination activity between two guys who know what they're doing and know the context. I mean, the film isn't way over edited for mainstream documentary, and it mostly keeps the sentimentality tolerable, so it's not a bad watch. But it probably could have been better simpler.
I will never, ever forget sitting behind Mediha herself, watching this story unfold, all of us in the theater crying together in release. Not to mention meeting her and her speak after the film. She said “ISIS is an old chapter. I’m starting a new book.”
Happy birthday Mediha, I hope your next book is beautiful
survivors have a voice.
le fait que Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad (la protagoniste) ait co-réalisé le film, que ce soit elle qui donne le rythme et qui choisit la façon dont elle relate son histoire résulte en un récit authentique et bouleversant, ou on comprend toute l’horreur de son vécu et de celui des yézidi-e-s sans rentrer dans des détails explicites et personnels.
Hasan Oswald (le réalisateur) a aussi bien expliqué en discussion post projection comment le projet avait été mené avec Mediha, comment elle avait été accompagnée là dedans et quelles étaient les mesures mises en place pour qu’elle se sente bien tout du long et ça permet juste de créer un documentaire raconté par le point de vue des…
maría al salir: "hala, otro conflicto social del que preocuparme" (maría es la mejor persona del mundo)
estaba rodeada de gente llorando y es que es muy duro. lo comentamos maría y yo al salir, pero es que es una historia súper dura y que es aún peor sabiendo que, una vez sales de ahí, sigues existiendo en una realidad en la que no puedes ni nadar en el mar con tus hermanos, tienes que cuidar y ser la madre de todos, tus momentos de ser niña y disfrutar un poco son en soledad porque la libertad reside ahí. la última escena bailando... 💔 mediha se merece una vida bonita.
la forma del documental me encantó: el vídeo cutre que grabaríamos con 12 años con la cámara del samsung galaxy o de la nintendo 3ds, pero de una realidad desgarradora... jo
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
An incredible experience! I didn't know much about the Yazidi genocide before, but this film taught so much in such an up-close manner. It destroyed me to see a young girl like Mediha take on the heavy burden of looking after her brothers and making headway in the investigative portion of the film, but that's also what made it so inspiring. I wish we got to see more of how her brothers were processing their recovery and the rescue of their brother, but the doc was paced well as is and the investigative portion was crucial to this film having an earned sense of resolution. That said, of course this issue is far from resolved, and this film makes for a great introduction for anyone looking to learn more about the Yazidis' ongoing fight for justice.
