Mediha

Mediha is a call to empathy and understanding. A story of horror and hope, of loss and resilience. It invites us to look beyond what we know, the power of Mediha, the young Yazidi girl whose childhood was stolen but found the strength to fight, survive and speak up."Mediha" (2023) struck me deeply. It is staggering how often we forget that behind every war or tragedy there are people with unique and complex stories just like her. Mediha, with her eyes full of courage, reminds us that every number in the statistics represents a broken life, a broken family, a stolen future. Her words are like an urgent call to recognize the humanity. "Mediha" invites us to be more empathetic and to recognize the strength and dignity of victims of atrocities.

Before seeing Mediha, i had some mixes feeling about the movie, especially regarding the overall method. Deciding to give the protagonist a camera is a peculiar choice. You have to trust the subject so much that she will become part of the movie, somehow a second director. Mediha successfully manages to tell her story in a personal way that has no equal, and paradoxically i now think that the method is the major innovative strenght of the movie, together with the heartbreaking, untold, kept-away-from-the-media story. Mediha is one of the most interesting documentaries of this year and i really hope it will find its audience around the world.

Young Yazidi woman, Mediha, tells her story. Through her lens you live her harrowing world, and the post mortem of surviving ISIS.

Director, Hasan Oswald, adeptly empowers Mediha to narrate her journey, skillfully capturing the dark nuances along side glimpses of hope.

They weave human resilience with stark tragedy and the pursuit of justice. You will think about Mediha long after the film ends, humbled and inspired.

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• Incredible access
• Poetic cinematography and editing
• Dynamic characters
• Vérité and real
• Important story of Yazidi genocide in Kurdistan
• Depth and emotion.

Mediha manages to leave you with a sense of awareness and powerlessness towards a girl and, more generally, towards the living conditions of some minority groups who constantly seek peace and justice. Mediha confronts you with an obvious reality that we don't always remember: not everyone has the privilege of living a "normal" life, as we in the Western world perceive it.

Mediha is a teenager who has experienced a life that no ordinary human being should ever dream of living. The right to be a girl, the right to live with her family, the right to live her own identity are some things that Mediha has had to sacrifice due to the situation she has experienced since she was little. But these absences are filled by a willpower and courage that are nothing short of admirable.

"Mediha" is a powerful documentary directed by Hasan Oswald that offers a candid glimpse into the life of a 15-year-old Iraqi girl named Mediha, who, along with her brothers, Ghazwan and Adnan, navigates the challenges of living in a refugee camp after being rescued from ISIS captivity. Through a blend of first-person camerawork by Mediha herself and Oswald's aerial shots, the film sheds light on the atrocities faced by the Yazidi community, where men are executed, women are sold into slavery, and children are indoctrinated into the Islamic State.

Oswald's sensitive storytelling approach allows Mediha to share her experiences at her own pace, respecting her boundaries while still highlighting the resilience and strength she embodies. The documentary not only serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing humanitarian crisis but also celebrates the power of resilience and the hope for healing in the face of unimaginable trauma.

"Mediha" is a compelling and thought-provoking film that demands attention and empathy from viewers, offering a unique perspective on the human spirit's ability to endure and overcome adversity.