On Her Shoulders

Synopsis

USA 2018; 94 min.

Nadia Murad has a story to tell. And she must tell it again, and again, and again. But is anybody listening? In this superbly crafted chronicle of the day-to-date toil of activism, filmmaker Alexandria Bombach, winner of this year’s Sundance Best Directing Prize, follows Murad as she travels from radio interviews to television appearances to U.N. meetings, all to raise awareness for the plight of her people, a small ethnic minority in Northern Iraq. Each time, Murad painfully recounts the story of how ISIS invaded her village, killed her family members, and held her captive. While On Her Shoulders focuses on Murad’s tireless efforts to grab the public’s attention, Bombach’s empathetic camera conveys a different and more complex tale: about Murad’s personal sacrifice, and the challenges of bearing the burden of an entire community. “Essential viewing” (Variety), “compelling” (Hollywood Reporter) and “fascinating” (RogerEbert.com), On Her Shoulders offers a profound testament to Murad’s suffering, courage and unfathomable tenacity [and] recognizes that compassion has never been in such short supply” (Indiewire). Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.