Russians at War

The Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa is one of the world’s most resource-rich countries. A wide range of rare minerals can be found here in abundance, all commanding high prices in world commodity markets. Diamonds for jewellery, tantalum, tungsten and gold for electronics; uranium used in power generation and weaponry and many others. Congo has copious deposits of raw materials that are in high demand internationally but remains one of the poorest countries in the world. For our translator, Bernard Kalume Buleri, his country’s history of turmoil is very personal; like most Congolese people, he and his family fell victim to the unending mineral based power struggle. Born in the year of his country’s independence, he has lived through war and seen his homeland torn apart by violent looting and greed. His story is a damning testament, illustrating how nature’s bounty, instead of being a blessing, becomes a deadly curse.

“Revenge” is a word that seems to define Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. It was here that “Islamic State” leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the Caliphate in June 2014. The liberation of the city came only two years later and lasted nine months. And with the liberation came the revenge, filling the streets with corpses of suspected ISIS members, often accused on dubious evidence. Shortsighted American policy, implemented after the 2003 invasion, ignored Iraq’s sectarian complexities and resulted in the exclusion of the Sunni minority as - here it is again - revenge for their allegiance to Saddam Hussein. So when ISIS first appeared, branding themselves as “protectors of the Sunnis”, many in the Sunni-majority Mosul welcomed their promises of stability and security and joined them. And many didn’t.

The road to Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the “Islamic State”, has been long and hard. Now encircled, the world’s largest terror group resorts to booby-trapping roads and houses, as well as deploying suicide bombers, snipers and grenade-dropping drones. This was the most dangerous and unpredictable film our crew has worked on. It also became a testament to the territorial demise of a cult that uprooted the lives of millions of people across Iraq and Syria and contributed to the largest refugee crisis of our time. There are three stops on the road leading to the Raqqa frontline: the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) base, the first medical point and the foreign volunteers camp. With unprecedented access, we managed to document what each of them face in the final weeks before the fall of Raqqa.

The YPJ (Women's Protection Units) is an all-female unit of Kurdish and Arab women who are fighting ISIS in Syria. Previously unheard of until 2012, the YPJ is comprised of volunteers from towns and villages that came under threat as the terror group extended its influence and started committing atrocities against the local population. These new recruits joined the group not only to protect their families from ISIS militants, but also to create a new feminist, socialist and democratic society, a "revolution within a revolution".

Wadi Al-Salam in Najaf, Iraq, is the world's largest cemetery, with over 5 million graves. Its hereditary undertakers share their stories.

As the “Islamic State” swept through Iraq in 2014, they targeted villages around Mount Sinjar, home to the Yazidi religious minority. Encircling the mountain, they killed thousands of Yazidi men and abducted an estimated 5,000 women and children to be sold at slave markets. With no help forthcoming, a Yazidi smuggler named Abu Shuja used his skills and network to steal back the people languishing in ISIS captivity. His success of rescuing over 500 people lead to ISIS placing a $500,000 bounty on his head, eventually pitting him and his family against the need to flee their country.

Mila Anufrieva was a style icon, a powerful businesswoman who wasn't afraid to take off her rose-colored glasses and look at the real world. The strange Russian with dark glasses is well known in Dakar and throughout Senegal, many even call her the “albino angel”. Every day she saves children from prostitution and slavery, from self-mutilation by order of local shamans. In African countries, there is a belief that the blood of albinos has healing powers. Albinos are hunted, mutilated, and body parts are sold in local markets as medicine.