At the West Hollywood Edition on March 6, where Greta Gerwig was honored as one of Time’s Women of the Year, the record-breaking director spoke to her artistic process and the possibility of a “Barbie” sequel.
“My North Star is ‘What do I deeply love? What do I really care about? Like, ‘What’s the story underneath this story?'” she said. “And I think with ‘Barbie,’ the story underneath this story was I loved Barbie. I remember going to Toys R Us and looking at Barbies and I loved their hair. And I loved everything about them and my mom was not sure about it. And I find that’s the story, that’s the generational story…I’m always trying to find those undertows.”
Whether or not she will continue to explore the world of Mattel is dependent on her discovering another fascinating tension like that. When asked about a sequel she said,...
“My North Star is ‘What do I deeply love? What do I really care about? Like, ‘What’s the story underneath this story?'” she said. “And I think with ‘Barbie,’ the story underneath this story was I loved Barbie. I remember going to Toys R Us and looking at Barbies and I loved their hair. And I loved everything about them and my mom was not sure about it. And I find that’s the story, that’s the generational story…I’m always trying to find those undertows.”
Whether or not she will continue to explore the world of Mattel is dependent on her discovering another fascinating tension like that. When asked about a sequel she said,...
- 3/6/2024
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Get ready to roll out miles and miles of red carpet — it’s time to party this week in Los Angeles in celebration of the 96th annual Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter has gathered intel on all the starry happenings around town below.
Monday, March 4
South Asians at the Oscars
Paramount Pictures, 5515 Melrose Ave., 7-10 p.m.
Prominent South Asian celebrities will join the 2024 South Asian Oscar nominees and shortlisted filmmakers to toast trailblazers and visionaries and honor the collective efforts and commitment of each attendee in advancing representation. The event is co-hosted by Kal Penn, Lilly Singh, Hannah Simone, Tan France, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rupi Kaur, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Anita Chatterjee, Shruti Ganguly and Archana Misra Jain with a musical performance by Ankur Tewari.
Tuesday, March 5
5th Annual HollyShorts Oscar Nominees Cocktail
Bardot, 1735 Vine St., Los Angeles, 6-10 p.m.
A cocktail reception to celebrate the HollyShorts alumni along with performers and invited guests.
Monday, March 4
South Asians at the Oscars
Paramount Pictures, 5515 Melrose Ave., 7-10 p.m.
Prominent South Asian celebrities will join the 2024 South Asian Oscar nominees and shortlisted filmmakers to toast trailblazers and visionaries and honor the collective efforts and commitment of each attendee in advancing representation. The event is co-hosted by Kal Penn, Lilly Singh, Hannah Simone, Tan France, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rupi Kaur, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Anita Chatterjee, Shruti Ganguly and Archana Misra Jain with a musical performance by Ankur Tewari.
Tuesday, March 5
5th Annual HollyShorts Oscar Nominees Cocktail
Bardot, 1735 Vine St., Los Angeles, 6-10 p.m.
A cocktail reception to celebrate the HollyShorts alumni along with performers and invited guests.
- 3/4/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The arts are well represented on Time magazine’s annual Women of the Year list, with the class of ’24 including actor, writer and director Greta Gerwig, actor Taraji P. Henson and singer, songwriter and actor Andra Day.
The list of 12 women was announced this morning. Also included on the roster tennis player Coco Gauff; Global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair; co-founder and leader of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace Yael Admi; founder and director of Women of the Sun Reem Hajajreh; president and chairwoman of nonprofit Nadia’s Initiative Nadia Murad; medical scientist and professor of research on hyperemesis gravidarum Marlena Fejzo; founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project Jacqui Patterson; poet Ada Limón; and economic historian and labor economist Claudia Goldin.
The Time list is designed to recognize “extraordinary leaders working toward a more equal world.”
Regarding Barbie director Gerwig, who is featured on the cover...
The list of 12 women was announced this morning. Also included on the roster tennis player Coco Gauff; Global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair; co-founder and leader of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace Yael Admi; founder and director of Women of the Sun Reem Hajajreh; president and chairwoman of nonprofit Nadia’s Initiative Nadia Murad; medical scientist and professor of research on hyperemesis gravidarum Marlena Fejzo; founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project Jacqui Patterson; poet Ada Limón; and economic historian and labor economist Claudia Goldin.
The Time list is designed to recognize “extraordinary leaders working toward a more equal world.”
Regarding Barbie director Gerwig, who is featured on the cover...
- 2/21/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Girl Up, a campaign by the United Nations Foundation, is hosting its 2020 virtual leadership summit on Monday, 13 July to Wednesday, 15 July. The three-day event will feature global leaders, change-makers, and allies who are committed to engaging teenage girls in conversations on gender equality. Special guests and speakers include Meghan Markle, Michelle Obama, Nadia Murad, and Chloe x Halle - and it's completely free to attend.
The focus for this year's Girl Up leadership summit is "We Need To Talk" and aims to connect the global movement for gender equality. The three-day agenda and lineup of speakers is impressive. In addition to Michelle Obama, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 2018 Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad, and musicians Chloe x Halle, attendees will get a front-row seat to listen to inspiring thoughts from the director of Un Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Facebook COO and founder of Leaninin.org Sheryl Sandberg, Iranian-American historian Nina Ansary, Zimbabwean-American...
The focus for this year's Girl Up leadership summit is "We Need To Talk" and aims to connect the global movement for gender equality. The three-day agenda and lineup of speakers is impressive. In addition to Michelle Obama, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 2018 Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad, and musicians Chloe x Halle, attendees will get a front-row seat to listen to inspiring thoughts from the director of Un Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Facebook COO and founder of Leaninin.org Sheryl Sandberg, Iranian-American historian Nina Ansary, Zimbabwean-American...
- 7/9/2020
- by Kara Kia
- Popsugar.com
Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his efforts to end his country’s two-decade war with neighboring Eritrea.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Abiy’s “efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.”
Abiy has also won praise for helping to broker a power-sharing deal in neighboring Sudan following the arrest of that country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Also Read: 'Wings of Desire' Writer Peter Handke and Polish Author Olga Tokarczuk Win Nobel Prize in Literature
Abiy’s win follows 2018’s Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad and 2017’s Internationals Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
On Thursday, the Swedish Academy awarded Austrian author and “Wings of Desire” screenwriter Peter Handke and Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Read original story Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize At TheWrap...
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Abiy’s “efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.”
Abiy has also won praise for helping to broker a power-sharing deal in neighboring Sudan following the arrest of that country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
Also Read: 'Wings of Desire' Writer Peter Handke and Polish Author Olga Tokarczuk Win Nobel Prize in Literature
Abiy’s win follows 2018’s Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad and 2017’s Internationals Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
On Thursday, the Swedish Academy awarded Austrian author and “Wings of Desire” screenwriter Peter Handke and Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Read original story Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Wins Nobel Peace Prize At TheWrap...
- 10/11/2019
- by Lindsey Ellefson
- The Wrap
Paris-based company Indie Sales has enlisted the support of the Mukwege Foundation, the org created by Nobel Peace Prize winning Congolese doctor and activist Denis Mukwege, for its animated documentary “Zero Impunity.”
“Zero Impunity” is part of a global transmedia project combining investigative journalism and activism focused on ending the seemingly blanket impunity for sexual violence in current armed conflicts. Based on six in-depth investigations spearheaded by 11 female journalists, the documentary weaves animated sequences chronicling stories of sexual violence in times of war across the world, notably in Ukraine and Syria, with live action segments featuring survivors, whistle-blowers and psychologists.
Mukwege is a prominent Congolese gynecologist who founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where for decades he has been treating thousands of women who have been raped by armed rebels. He was jointly awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad.
The partnership...
“Zero Impunity” is part of a global transmedia project combining investigative journalism and activism focused on ending the seemingly blanket impunity for sexual violence in current armed conflicts. Based on six in-depth investigations spearheaded by 11 female journalists, the documentary weaves animated sequences chronicling stories of sexual violence in times of war across the world, notably in Ukraine and Syria, with live action segments featuring survivors, whistle-blowers and psychologists.
Mukwege is a prominent Congolese gynecologist who founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where for decades he has been treating thousands of women who have been raped by armed rebels. He was jointly awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad.
The partnership...
- 3/29/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu begins streaming “Free Solo,” PBS launches its 32nd season of “Pov,” and Comedy Central names Angelina Battista as vice president, brand creative.
Executive News
Angelina Battista will take over as vice president of brand creative for Comedy Central. Josh Line, executive vice president of marketing and creative announced the decision Wednesday. Battista will now lead a team of designers and art directors to ensure that all campaigns, content, key art, photography and design is compelling and on brand. She also provides artistic and creative direction toward defining and refining the visual identity of the Comedy Central brand and keeping it in line with strategic initiative.
Dates
Hulu begins streaming the Academy Award-winning “Free Solo” Wednesday, March 13. The film follows Alex Honnold through his preparation and free climb of El Capitan, the 3,200 ft. peak in Yosemite. Variety’s Peter Debruge describes the film as a,...
Executive News
Angelina Battista will take over as vice president of brand creative for Comedy Central. Josh Line, executive vice president of marketing and creative announced the decision Wednesday. Battista will now lead a team of designers and art directors to ensure that all campaigns, content, key art, photography and design is compelling and on brand. She also provides artistic and creative direction toward defining and refining the visual identity of the Comedy Central brand and keeping it in line with strategic initiative.
Dates
Hulu begins streaming the Academy Award-winning “Free Solo” Wednesday, March 13. The film follows Alex Honnold through his preparation and free climb of El Capitan, the 3,200 ft. peak in Yosemite. Variety’s Peter Debruge describes the film as a,...
- 3/13/2019
- by Daniel Nissen
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Women are front and center in PBS’ slate for its 32nd season of Pov. A total of 16 feature films in this year’s lineup were created by women directors, while four of the five short films are helmed by females. To further diversify its season, Pov has a global reach with 10 of the feature films coming from abroad.
The new season kicks off June 17 with Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll on all PBS stations and across its platforms and pov.org and amdoc.org. October will welcome broadcast premieres with pop-out episodes in early 2020. The second season of Pov Shorts will begin July 22 with Changing Same, which will premiere after the feature On Her Shoulders. In addition to Changing Same, the rest of this year’s Pov Shorts confirmed slate feature filmmakers of color: Water Warriors, Stay Close, Edgecombe and Crisanto Street.
The surge of women filmmakers and...
The new season kicks off June 17 with Nancy Schwartzman’s Roll Red Roll on all PBS stations and across its platforms and pov.org and amdoc.org. October will welcome broadcast premieres with pop-out episodes in early 2020. The second season of Pov Shorts will begin July 22 with Changing Same, which will premiere after the feature On Her Shoulders. In addition to Changing Same, the rest of this year’s Pov Shorts confirmed slate feature filmmakers of color: Water Warriors, Stay Close, Edgecombe and Crisanto Street.
The surge of women filmmakers and...
- 3/13/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
This arresting documentary critiques the limits to western compassion as it follows the Iraqi activist and Isis rape survivor on her lonely human rights pilgrimage
Alexandria Bombach’s arresting documentary raises a significant question: has our compassion on international human rights become Malala-ised? Are the west’s media and political classes able to focus their concern only when they are gallantly scandalised by the ordeal of a young woman, such as Malala Yousafzai (shot by the Taliban in revenge for campaigning for women’s education) or Nadia Murad, the heroine of this film? If so, it is putting an intolerable strain on these women, being idolised and endlessly scrutinised and asked to be the redemptive symbols of our own well-intentioned compassion.
Murad is a remarkable young Iraqi woman from the Yazidi ethnic community who survived being kidnapped, beaten and repeatedly raped by Islamic State in the course of its genocidal...
Alexandria Bombach’s arresting documentary raises a significant question: has our compassion on international human rights become Malala-ised? Are the west’s media and political classes able to focus their concern only when they are gallantly scandalised by the ordeal of a young woman, such as Malala Yousafzai (shot by the Taliban in revenge for campaigning for women’s education) or Nadia Murad, the heroine of this film? If so, it is putting an intolerable strain on these women, being idolised and endlessly scrutinised and asked to be the redemptive symbols of our own well-intentioned compassion.
Murad is a remarkable young Iraqi woman from the Yazidi ethnic community who survived being kidnapped, beaten and repeatedly raped by Islamic State in the course of its genocidal...
- 1/24/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Nadia Murad once dreamed of opening a salon in her home village in Northern Iraq. The salon would be a place where Iraqi women could feel beautiful and special. But at the age of 21, Murad’s dreams were shattered by the Islamic State.
Murad is now turning her experience with Isis into a campaign to stop the genocide that is wreaking havoc in her home country, and director Alexandria Bombach is showcasing the activist’s fight in the documentary “On Her Shoulders.”
“We made this film to understand and connect with her humanity. To feel the complexity of that journey and her countless frustrations,” producer Hayley Pappas told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman during a screening of the film at the Landmark Theatres Monday night.
Also Read: 'Jirga' Actor Had to Sleep With Knife Under Pillow in War-Torn Afghanistan While Filming
On August 3, 2014, members of Isis went into Murad...
Murad is now turning her experience with Isis into a campaign to stop the genocide that is wreaking havoc in her home country, and director Alexandria Bombach is showcasing the activist’s fight in the documentary “On Her Shoulders.”
“We made this film to understand and connect with her humanity. To feel the complexity of that journey and her countless frustrations,” producer Hayley Pappas told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman during a screening of the film at the Landmark Theatres Monday night.
Also Read: 'Jirga' Actor Had to Sleep With Knife Under Pillow in War-Torn Afghanistan While Filming
On August 3, 2014, members of Isis went into Murad...
- 1/8/2019
- by Omar Sanchez
- The Wrap
As 2018 comes to a close, Yazidi human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad continues her relentless efforts advocating for her people, an ethnic minority in Iraq targeted for annihilation by Isis. She has been aided in that campaign not only by earning the Nobel Prize but by the acclaimed documentary On Her Shoulders, a film about Murad that demonstrates in telling detail just what it can take to compel the world to action.
Alexandria Bombach directed and Hayley Pappas produced the film that last week made the Documentary Feature Oscar shortlist. On Her Shoulders is a production of Ryot Films, a company known for character-driven stories that bring attention to humanitarian crises across the globe.
“Early summer of 2016 we approached Nadia’s team about doing a documentary,” Pappas tells Deadline. “They responded incredibly receptively,...
Alexandria Bombach directed and Hayley Pappas produced the film that last week made the Documentary Feature Oscar shortlist. On Her Shoulders is a production of Ryot Films, a company known for character-driven stories that bring attention to humanitarian crises across the globe.
“Early summer of 2016 we approached Nadia’s team about doing a documentary,” Pappas tells Deadline. “They responded incredibly receptively,...
- 12/28/2018
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Earlier this year, a handful of congressmen formally nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. “Although North Korea has evaded demands from the international community to cease its aggression for decades, President Trump’s peace through strength policies are working and bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula,” the letter concluded, anticipating the president’s June summit with Kim Jong-un. But the Nobel committee was unmoved by Trump glad-handing a murderous dictator, and ultimately awarded the prize to Nadia Murad, an activist for those who survived sexual abuse at the hands of Isis,...
- 11/12/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
“Free Solo,” “Quincy,” “Minding the Gap,” “Rbg,” “Three identical Strangers” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” are among the films nominated for the Audience Choice Prize at the 2018 Cinema Eye Honors, an awards show devoted to all facts of nonfiction filmmaking.
“Bathtubs Over Broadway,” “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.,” “On Her Shoulders” and “Shirkers” were also nominated in the Audience Choice category, which can be voted on by members of the public at the Cinema Eye website.
The bulk of the Cinema Eye Honors nominees will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the winners will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
Also Read: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Land Ida Documentary Nominations
In the Broadcast Film category, the nominees were four docs from HBO – “Baltimore Rising,” “Believer,” “The Final Year” and...
“Bathtubs Over Broadway,” “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.,” “On Her Shoulders” and “Shirkers” were also nominated in the Audience Choice category, which can be voted on by members of the public at the Cinema Eye website.
The bulk of the Cinema Eye Honors nominees will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the winners will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 10 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
Also Read: 'Free Solo,' 'Minding the Gap,' 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?' Land Ida Documentary Nominations
In the Broadcast Film category, the nominees were four docs from HBO – “Baltimore Rising,” “Believer,” “The Final Year” and...
- 10/25/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Cinema Eye Honors revealed the first awards announcements for the organization’s 12th annual awards on Thursday.
Audience choice nominees include recent documentary awards-circuit players such as “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap,” “Quincy,” “Rbg,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The group also unveiled its list of “The Unforgettables,” honoring notable and significant nonfiction film subjects, such as rock climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”), recording artist M.I.A. (“Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”), Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“Rbg”), and television legend Fred Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”).
Joining the broadcast film category is a new field this year, broadcast series, which features contenders such as Netflix’s “Evil Genius” and “Wild Wild Country,” and Showtime’s “The Fourth Estate.”
In the Heterodox category, recognizing fiction films that actively blur the line between fiction and documentary, The Orchard and MoviePass’ “American Animals,” Magnolia’s “Skate Kitchen,” and...
Audience choice nominees include recent documentary awards-circuit players such as “Free Solo,” “Minding the Gap,” “Quincy,” “Rbg,” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The group also unveiled its list of “The Unforgettables,” honoring notable and significant nonfiction film subjects, such as rock climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”), recording artist M.I.A. (“Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”), Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (“Rbg”), and television legend Fred Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”).
Joining the broadcast film category is a new field this year, broadcast series, which features contenders such as Netflix’s “Evil Genius” and “Wild Wild Country,” and Showtime’s “The Fourth Estate.”
In the Heterodox category, recognizing fiction films that actively blur the line between fiction and documentary, The Orchard and MoviePass’ “American Animals,” Magnolia’s “Skate Kitchen,” and...
- 10/25/2018
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou is set to portray the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege in “Panzi,” a biopic helmed by actress-turned-director Marie-Helene Roux (“Links of Life”).
Mukwege is a prominent Congolese gynecologist who founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where for decades he has been treating thousands of women who have been raped by armed rebels. He was jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”
Hounsou, who is best-known for his Oscar-nominated performances in Jim Sheridan’s “In America” and Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond,” will headline “Panzi,” which Cynthia Pinet at Paris-based 1divided Films is producing. The film is currently in casting and is scheduled to start shooting next summer.
1divided acquired the exclusive rights to the life and story of...
Mukwege is a prominent Congolese gynecologist who founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where for decades he has been treating thousands of women who have been raped by armed rebels. He was jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize with Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”
Hounsou, who is best-known for his Oscar-nominated performances in Jim Sheridan’s “In America” and Edward Zwick’s “Blood Diamond,” will headline “Panzi,” which Cynthia Pinet at Paris-based 1divided Films is producing. The film is currently in casting and is scheduled to start shooting next summer.
1divided acquired the exclusive rights to the life and story of...
- 10/22/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Following a nearly ten-year journey, Can You Ever Forgive Me? hits theaters this weekend via Fox Searchlight. Starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant, and based on the true story of celebrity biographer Lee Israel, the film will have a platform start this weekend en route to several hundred runs.
The feature is one of several Specialty titles heading into release with name casts and possible awards hopes. Paul Dano makes his directorial debut with Wildlife, which he co-wrote. The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, opens via IFC Films after playing recent festivals.
Bleecker Street is opening What They Had with Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster and Blythe Danner. Launching in several locations, the film is the first-time directorial by actor Elizabeth Chomko. And on the doc side, Menemsha Films is giving a New York launch for Austria’s Foreign Language contender, The Waldheim Waltz.
Also one...
The feature is one of several Specialty titles heading into release with name casts and possible awards hopes. Paul Dano makes his directorial debut with Wildlife, which he co-wrote. The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan, opens via IFC Films after playing recent festivals.
Bleecker Street is opening What They Had with Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster and Blythe Danner. Launching in several locations, the film is the first-time directorial by actor Elizabeth Chomko. And on the doc side, Menemsha Films is giving a New York launch for Austria’s Foreign Language contender, The Waldheim Waltz.
Also one...
- 10/19/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
On Her Shoulders Oscilloscope Pictures Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Director: Alexandria Bombach Screenwriter: Alexandria Bombach Cast: Nadia Murad, Murad Ismael Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/9/18 Opens: October 19, 2018 When President Trump viewed pictures on TV of the children killed by Bashar al-Assad’s chemical or biological weapons, he exclaimed “Let’s kill that f—er.” Earlier […]
The post On Her Shoulders Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post On Her Shoulders Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/18/2018
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Recently announced Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad, a survivor of the Yazidi genocide and a current human rights activist, is the star of On Her Shoulders, Alexandria Bombach’s Sundance-winning (both for Best Documentary and the U.S. Documentary Directing Award) portrait of Murad as she navigates a world that would be overwhelming and intimidating for any 23-year-old, let alone one who has experienced unspeakable crimes at the hands of Isis. But speak Murad must — to the prying media, to the cold bureaucratic Un, to indistinguishable assorted government officials. And to the refugees at camps who look to her as […]...
- 10/17/2018
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Recently announced Nobel Peace Prize recipient Nadia Murad, a survivor of the Yazidi genocide and a current human rights activist, is the star of On Her Shoulders, Alexandria Bombach’s Sundance-winning (both for Best Documentary and the U.S. Documentary Directing Award) portrait of Murad as she navigates a world that would be overwhelming and intimidating for any 23-year-old, let alone one who has experienced unspeakable crimes at the hands of Isis. But speak Murad must — to the prying media, to the cold bureaucratic Un, to indistinguishable assorted government officials. And to the refugees at camps who look to her as […]...
- 10/17/2018
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
"Murad is campaigning to try to get the world to notice, and do something." Oscilloscope Labs has debuted the official trailer for a documentary titled On Her Shoulders, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and won the Us Documentary Directing Award. The film is even more relevant now because its subject, young activist and genocide survivor Nadia Murad, just won the Nobel Peace Prize with Denis Mukwege. After surviving the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaping sexual slavery at the hands of Isis, 23-year-old Nadia Murad gave a testimony before the U.N. Security Council that was heard around the world. Nadia suddenly became the face and voice of the Yazidis. Despite longing for a normal life away from the spotlight, she takes on the exhausting role of an activist in hopes of halting the ongoing genocide. This seems like a powerful look...
- 10/5/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Most people who see Alexandria Bombach’s “On Her Shoulders,” about young activist and Un Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad, have likely never heard of the Yazidi people. Bombach herself hadn’t heard about the small religious group from Northern Iraq until she began making her documentary about Nadia’s quest to bring awareness of the group’s genocide by Isis in 2014.
At a Q&A after an Ida screening in Los Angeles, Bombach and producer Hayley Pappas, head of Ryot Films, told the audience that the stated intention was to make a short. But Bombach made her first cut in secret — and once Papas and the team at Ryot saw the feature-length version, they knew she was right.
In August 2014, Isis fighters invaded the Sinjar region and eventually made their way to Nadia’s village, where they rounded up and killed most of the men and elderly people before holding...
At a Q&A after an Ida screening in Los Angeles, Bombach and producer Hayley Pappas, head of Ryot Films, told the audience that the stated intention was to make a short. But Bombach made her first cut in secret — and once Papas and the team at Ryot saw the feature-length version, they knew she was right.
In August 2014, Isis fighters invaded the Sinjar region and eventually made their way to Nadia’s village, where they rounded up and killed most of the men and elderly people before holding...
- 10/4/2018
- by Jean Bentley
- Indiewire
For 29 years, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival has singled out films that highlight humanitarian challenges around the world. While much of its lineup often premieres at bigger festivals such as Sundance and Toronto, the Humans Rights Festival — which brings its program to cities around the world — creates a unique context that helps certain message-driven films stand out. For artistic director John Biaggi, programming the festival provides an opportunity to catapult cinematic activism to a world stage.
While the nonfiction festival’s purpose may seem more pressing than ever in the divisive era of the Trump Administration, Biaggi said that the philosophy of the programming has remained the same. “There have been all these different human-rights issues around the globe for decades, but more of them have only been uncovered recently,” he said. “I think people feel like, the world is so full of problems. The world was always full of problems.
While the nonfiction festival’s purpose may seem more pressing than ever in the divisive era of the Trump Administration, Biaggi said that the philosophy of the programming has remained the same. “There have been all these different human-rights issues around the globe for decades, but more of them have only been uncovered recently,” he said. “I think people feel like, the world is so full of problems. The world was always full of problems.
- 6/17/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Another capable female filmmaker has been signed by a top agency. Director, cinematographer and editor Alexandria Bombach, who debuted her feature doc On Her Shoulders at Sundance this year, has signed with UTA. That film took home the award for Best Directing in the U.S. Documentary competition. On Her Shoulders was about the life of 23 year-old Nadia Murad who survived genocide and sexual slavery at the hands of Isis only to become the courageous voice of her…...
- 3/21/2018
- Deadline
Doc about genocide survivor premiered in Park City.
Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Alexandria Bombach’s documentary On Her Shoulders, the Sundance premiere that screens at SXSW this month.
O-Scope plans a theatrical release towards the end of the year on the story of Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old survivor of the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq, who became the face of her people after she testified before the U.N. security council.
The film examines the hardships the young woman endures as she tells her story again and again, forced to relive the trauma for a greater good.
Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Alexandria Bombach’s documentary On Her Shoulders, the Sundance premiere that screens at SXSW this month.
O-Scope plans a theatrical release towards the end of the year on the story of Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old survivor of the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Iraq, who became the face of her people after she testified before the U.N. security council.
The film examines the hardships the young woman endures as she tells her story again and again, forced to relive the trauma for a greater good.
- 3/5/2018
- by Jenn Sherman
- ScreenDaily
Author: Nathan McVay
Sundance can be the greatest experience for film lovers. It also can be an internal struggle and mind draining ten days. What will be the next big hit? What is the can’t miss revolutionary film? What is the worst film here? Between our Sundance contributors Ty Cooper and Nathan McVay, the two saw nearly 30 films. While we have published some of their full length reviews the two wanted to let everyone know their brief takes on all the films they caught. Below is their very brief one sentence reviews and star ratings of all the films of Sundance. Hearts Beat Loud Ty- The annual obligatory Sundance musical that features songs that were obviously not written for their leading lady. 2/5 Stars Nathan- Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons are fantastic but this film is too heavy and pretentious for its own good. 3/5 Stars Blindspotting Ty- A jarring and...
Sundance can be the greatest experience for film lovers. It also can be an internal struggle and mind draining ten days. What will be the next big hit? What is the can’t miss revolutionary film? What is the worst film here? Between our Sundance contributors Ty Cooper and Nathan McVay, the two saw nearly 30 films. While we have published some of their full length reviews the two wanted to let everyone know their brief takes on all the films they caught. Below is their very brief one sentence reviews and star ratings of all the films of Sundance. Hearts Beat Loud Ty- The annual obligatory Sundance musical that features songs that were obviously not written for their leading lady. 2/5 Stars Nathan- Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons are fantastic but this film is too heavy and pretentious for its own good. 3/5 Stars Blindspotting Ty- A jarring and...
- 2/1/2018
- by Nathan McVay
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chronicling the making of the United Nation’s first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Surviving Victims of Human Trafficking, Alexandria Bombach’s On Her Shoulders is the story of Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist and former Isis captive working to share her story. The film is a stirring call to action as Nadia’s story is rehearsed, strategized, and packaged by allies, including human rights attorney Amal Clooney who works to hold the Islamic State accountable for their crimes against the Yazidi.
Bombach’s approach to the material keeps its distance. It’s not an aggressive fly on the wall documentary chronicling Murad’s struggles. Rather than have Murad recount her painful story on screen – her family murdered, she forced into sex slavery as a teen – director-editor Bombach intercuts the telling of this story as Murad is cruelly forced to recount the pain in interview after interview.
On Her...
Bombach’s approach to the material keeps its distance. It’s not an aggressive fly on the wall documentary chronicling Murad’s struggles. Rather than have Murad recount her painful story on screen – her family murdered, she forced into sex slavery as a teen – director-editor Bombach intercuts the telling of this story as Murad is cruelly forced to recount the pain in interview after interview.
On Her...
- 1/29/2018
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Less a portrait of accidental activist Nadia Murad than a sensitive witnessing of the way she has endured life in the public eye, Alexandria Bombach's On Her Shoulders is passionately attentive to the plight of the Yazidis while making broader observations about the call to public service. The subject is a grueling one, full of murder and rape and pleas for the world's attention, and is most likely to find viewers on small screens. But the film is carried by Murad's face: composed more often than seems possible, opaque to the weariness and harsher emotions that may stir behind it,...
- 1/20/2018
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nadia Murad, 23, only had three minutes to address the United Nations General Assembly and tell the gathered delegates her life story, an unspeakably horrific tale that includes being imprisoned and raped by the Isis militants who murdered her relatives. She then escaped the ongoing genocide of the Yazidi people en route to join forces with Amal Clooney, who helped her take legal action against the terrorists responsible for these crimes against humanity. Most of us would probably need more than three minutes just to tell someone about the trials and tribulations of their commute to work that morning.
Of course, by 2016 Murad was quite good at distilling her biography, having spent the previous year practicing on countless journalists (either in English or in her native Kurdish), receiving one of Glamour Magazine’s 2016 “Women of the Year” awards, and becoming the first person to ever brief the Un Security Council on the subject of human trafficking.
Of course, by 2016 Murad was quite good at distilling her biography, having spent the previous year practicing on countless journalists (either in English or in her native Kurdish), receiving one of Glamour Magazine’s 2016 “Women of the Year” awards, and becoming the first person to ever brief the Un Security Council on the subject of human trafficking.
- 1/20/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
As you made your film during the increasingly chaotic backdrop of the last year, how did you as a filmmaker control, ignore, give in to or, conversely, perhaps creatively exploit the wild and unpredictable? What roles did chaos and order play in your work? When I packed my bags to meet Nadia Murad for the first time, I thought we were heading to Kurdistan. I was going to film the displaced Yazidis in camps north of Sinjar and possibly the mass graves where Isis had murdered thousands of Yazidi people in 2014. It was July, so I packed for 120-degree […]...
- 1/20/2018
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Alexandria Bombach’s latest film On Her Shoulders makes its world premiere this weekend in the U.S. Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival. Following up her 2015 docu Frame by Frame about the freedom of the press fight in Afghanistan, Bombach points her lens at genocide, Isis and Nadia Murad, who has become the voice of her people at a hefty price. After surviving the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaping sexual slavery at the hands of…...
- 1/16/2018
- Deadline
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