Event Coverage Highlight

Film Forum Hosts Screening of ‘Mediha’ + Q&A with Filmmakers and Deborah Amos
Purchase Tickets for Oct. 12 Now >>
Women for Women International CEO Laurie Adams will join filmmaker Hasan Oswald & subject Mediha Alhamad for a Q&A Moderated by Deborah Amos, Vice President, Overseas Press Club.
With the help of an OPC COVID grant, OPC member Hasan Oswald filmed in Iraq, Turkey and Syria for almost four years to tell the story of Mediha, a teenage Yazidi girl who has just returned from ISIS captivity. She 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. At age 17, Mediha participated in one of the only active investigations in Iraq to prosecute ISIS members for the crimes they committed against Yazidis.
In countries affected by conflict and war, Women for Women International supports the most marginalized women to earn and save money, improve health and well-being, influence decisions in their home and community, and connect to networks for support. By utilizing skills, knowledge, and resources, she is able to create sustainable change for herself, her family, and community.
Since the start of his filmmaking career, Hasan Oswald (Director & Producer) has established an ability to capture the human experience through verité cinema. He has covered the water crisis in Flint, Michigan (FORGOTTEN USA), drug trafficking and homelessness in Camden, NJ (HIGHER LOVE), and the international diaspora of conflict refugees for NatGeo (HELL ON EARTH). Hasan was named one of DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 documentary rising stars to watch co-presented by HBO Documentary Films.
Mediha Alhamad (Film Subject & Cinematographer) was an integral part of the making of the MEDIHA documentary. She filmed herself and her family for three years, bringing the audience into the most authentic telling of her story. She’s brave and determined beyond her years and has become an advocate for her community. She has the potential to help other Yazidi women and girls in very similar circumstances, and the filmmaking team believes that she, a Yazidi survivor herself, is the best person to do this.
Use the code MEDIHAXFF on the Film Forum website for discounted tickets for OPC members and their guests ($13).
The film will be showing at Film Forum through Oct. 17.