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.

Saturday, April 7th @ 4pm

Followed by Q+A with director Alexandria Bombach; Matthew Barber, Former Executive Director of Yazda in Iraq; Brannon Ingram, professor of Religious Studies, Northwestern University; and Dr. Nancy Bothne and Kaycee Foreman (TCSES)

director bio

Alexandria Bombach is an award-winning cinematographer, editor, and director from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her feature-length documentary Frame by Frame had its world premiere at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival and went on to win more than 25 film festival awards. The film follows four Afghan photojournalists facing the realities of building Afghanistan's first free press. She continued her work in Afghanistan in 2016 directing the New York TimesOp-Doc, Afghanistan by Choice.