The documentary ‘A 157,’ directed by Iranian filmmaker Behrouz Nouranipour, 35, has reached the lineup for the 2017 Movies That Matter Film festival, to be held from March 24-April 1 in The Hague, Netherlands.
The documentary is an account of the war horrors in Syria. One of the most horrifying ISIS operations was the physical and cultural genocide of the Yazidi Kurds in Iraq, ILNA reported.
After conquering the Shingal region west of Mosul, the terrorist militia began to systematically kill the male population while thousands of children, girls and women were kidnapped, enslaved, forced into marriage or raped.
Very few managed to escape, such as the sisters Hailin, 13, and Roken, 15, along with their friend Soolaf, 11, who live in a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border in the UNHCR tent number 157.
Major part of Nouranipour’s film is confined to the interior of the tent. This is where the girls huddle day after day with no expectation.
The memories of their earlier life, of parents and siblings who are lost or dead, and the depictions of atrocities inflicted on them by the extremists are deeply harrowing.
The 73-min documentary is in Kurdish language, spoken by the three characters in the film. Its screening at the Dutch event is slated for March 30 to April 1.
Nematipour will be present at all the three screenings for the Q&A sessions. The first session will be attended by Dutch author and freelance journalist Judit Neurink, 60.
According to the festival website, moviesthatmatter.nl, the organizers believe that “camera is a powerful weapon against social indifference. Film has an unprecedented capacity to open eyes. What cannot be accomplished by spoken and written language is sometimes achieved by motion picture…”
Produced by Soureh Documentary Center, affiliated to Hoze-Honari (Art Center) of Islamic Development Organization, ‘A 157’ was made in 2015, and has won many awards including Best Long Documentary Award at the 16th Watch Docs International Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland; main award at the competition section of the 15th Internationales Festival Zeichen der Nacht in Berlin, Best Documentary award at the 34th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran; and Special Jury Award at Cinema Verite, Tehran.
The film also received the highest public vote at Chambery Film Festival in France.