Commander Arian - A Story of Women, War & Freedom
ABOUT
On the front line of the Syrian war, 30-year-old Commander Arian guides a female battalion towards the city of Kobane to release its people from the grip of ISIS in Alba Sotorra's empowe- ring tale of emancipation and freedom. When the war in Syria erupted, a group of women from the Kurdish resistance formed the YPJ - Women’s Protection Units. Arian, who at a young age had witnessed the barbaric treatment of sexual assault victims, leads the unit and dedicates her life to defeating ISIS. As the YPJ inches closer to its target, she implores her comrades to discover the true meaning of their fight: freedom for the next generation of women. With unprecedented access to the commander and her troops, including harrowing scenes of Arian’s slow recovery from multiple bullet wounds, Sotorra brilliantly crafts an enthralling portrait of a woman on a mission.
Shamima Begum made worldwide headlines when, at the age of 15, she left the UK with two teenage friends to join ISIS. Four years later, having lost three children to disease and malnutrition, she surrendered to the coalition forces and is now held in a detention camp in Northern Syria. In 2019, the UK revoked her British nationality —on the grounds she could obtain Bengali nationality because of her parents’ ascendance. Her family has started a legal battle against the Home Office to defend her right to enter the UK to appeal the deprivation of her nationality. They are currently expecting the Supreme Court’s judgement.
CREDITS
Alba Sotorra
Marta Figueras
Tomas Ernst
Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Bernat Aragonès
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