Oscar Winner Emma Thompson Joins ‘Mediha’ Team, Documentary On Yazidi Girl Who Survived ISIS Captivity 

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Emma Thompson has signed on as an executive producer of Mediha, a documentary about a Yazidi girl’s quest for justice after she was was kidnapped by ISIS and sold into slavery.

Mediha herself filmed much of the footage in the documentary, which makes its world premiere on Sunday, November 12 at DOC NYC. Mediha and director Hasan Oswald will participate in Q&As following the world premiere and an additional screening on Monday, Nov. 13 (the film will also be available on DOC NYC’s virtual platform from Nov. 13-26). We have your first look at the film in the clip above.

“In 2014, ISIS committed genocide against the Yazidis, a small religious and ethnic minority in Northern Iraq,” notes background information about the documentary. “Men and the elderly were executed and dumped into mass graves, while many boys were trained to become child soldiers. Women and girls were forced into sexual slavery, repeatedly sold and traded among ISIS soldiers.

“Mediha, a teenage Yazidi girl who has recently returned from ISIS captivity, turns her camera on herself to process her trauma while rescuers search for her missing family members. This is the story of the Yazidi genocide and its aftermath, shown through the lens of one young survivor as she confronts her past through personal video-diaries, reclaiming her voice and stepping bravely towards the future.”

In a statement, Thompson said, 

“I am so honored to be a small part of this incredible film, which shines a light on forgotten voices and overlooked injustices. From the earliest versions I watched, I could see how gracefully and empathetically made the film was, handling difficult subject matter while maintaining the dignity of the participants. Brilliantly crafted by Hasan Oswald using a uniquely collaborative approach, it captures the raw reality of this young survivor’s life.

“What Mediha has had to face is overwhelming. One wonders how she survived it all — but she did and at the tender age of 18, she is heroically doing the essential work of bringing her perpetrator to justice and becoming an advocate for the Yazidi people. 

“I couldn’t be prouder of her — and of the remarkable work Hasan has done to bring her story to light. 

“It makes me proud to be human and it’s not often I can say that.”

Oswald, whose credits include the 2020 documentary Higher Love, was raised in a Sufi-Muslim community. In a director’s statement, he said, “I wondered why America, a country so directly involved in the gutting of Iraq, was doing so little to help the Yazidi community. I wondered why the broader Muslim community was not advocating for another marginalized community.

“In 2019, I was in Iraq reporting on the Yazidi genocide through the traditional lens of documentary film. But then I met Mediha, who had recently returned from captivity to a culture and community she did not remember, and realized at once that this was not a story that could be told with traditional sit-down interviews, geo-political experts or politicians. And, more importantly, that this was not my story to tell — it was Mediha’s. So, we set out to make a film together.”

The story takes place over three years, across Iraq, Turkey and Syria, according to a release about the documentary, “highlighting the ongoing and long-lasting impact of ISIS atrocities. Mediha takes us on her quest for justice, confronting her trauma and pain through personal video-diaries, and reclaiming her voice by initiating investigations into her perpetrator.”

Mediha is a production of Loveworld Meida. The film is directed by Hasan Oswald and produced by Hasan Oswald, Annelise Mecca, Fahrinisa Campana, Alexander Spiess, and Stephen Nemeth. Executive Producers include Emma Thompson, Betsy Stahl, Rick Dugdale, Hakan Karlsson, Joyce Pierpoline, and Jason Loftus. Cinematography is by Hasan Oswald and Mediha Alhamad. Kaitlyn Plum is the editor; the score is composed by Henry Bloomfield.

Watch the clip from Mediha above.