The Embassy of the Czech Republic, Middle East Institute and the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the United States present the documentary On Her Shoulders on February 11, 2020, at 5:00 pm. The film follows Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who received the Nobel Prize for her battle against sexual violence and other abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State.
Film Background: On August 3, 2014, ISIS began a brutal campaign of genocide against the Yazidi people of northern Iraq, whom they considered to be “devil-worshippers” worthy of extermination. Thousands of people were killed in the weeks that followed. Women and children were captured, forced to become sex slaves and child soldiers. Nadia Murad was captured on the same day that ISIS killed her mother and six brothers. Eighteen members of her family were either killed or enslaved.
Synopsis: Twenty-three-year-old Nadia Murad’s life is an array of exhausting undertakings – from giving testimony before the U.N. to visiting refugee camps to soul-bearing media interviews and one-on-one meetings with top government officials. Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows this strong-willed young woman, who survived the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaped the hands of ISIS to become a relentless beacon of hope for her people, even when at times she longs to lay aside this monumental burden and simply have an ordinary life. The director states, “This is a film that explores that space—the distance between the victim and her voice, the fragility of human emotions that both provoke and hinder positive change, and the unbelievable resilience of a woman willing to sacrifice herself to play the media game that is modern advocacy.”
One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
The film is screening as an extension of the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, one of the largest human rights film festivals in the world. The festival, organized by the Czech non-profit People in Need, is held annually in Prague, Czech Republic, attracting more than 120,000 viewers. One World presents more than 110 documentary films from around the globe, focusing on social, political, environmental, media and human rights issues.
For more information about the festival, please visit https://www.oneworld.cz/festival/.
Watch a trailer of the film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RRE1DWK8cU.
The film garnered director Alexandria Bombach the Directing Award (U.S. Documentary) at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Tea and baklava will be served at the beginning of the event, followed by the film screening.