Mylène Sauloy

As the forces of ISIS and Assad tear through villages and society in Syria and Northern Iraq, a group of brave and idealistic women are taking up arms against them—and winning inspiring victories. Members of “The Free Women’s Party” come from Paris, Turkish Kurdistan, and other parts of the world. Their dream: To create a Democratic Syria, and a society based on gender equality. Guns in hand, these women are carrying on a movement with roots that run 40 years deep in the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. GIRL’S WAR honors the legacy of Sakine Cansiz, co-founder of the PKK who was assassinated in Paris in 2013, and reflects on the sacrifices made by all of the women in the movement, who have endured jail, rape, war, and persecution in their quest to liberate their lives and sisters from male dominance. With scenes of solidarity, strength, and love amongst these brave women soldiers, GIRL'S WAR is a surprising story of Middle Eastern feminism on the front lines.

Grozny. July 2009. The body of journalist and human rights defender Natasha Estemirova is discovered by the side of the road. Like her friend, Anna Politkovskaya, Estemirova sought to publicise what was happening in Chechnyna. Like Politkovskaya, she received several death threats from Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov. In this investigation, we examine the silencing of voices of dissent in Russia.