Welcome to Raqqa

Amidst the chaos of the Iraq and Syrian War, independent photographer and director Joey L. embeds himself with Kurdish guerrilla organizations on the frontlines against ISIS. Without the constraints typical of our mainstream media, Joey offers a deeply personal, humanizing, and controversial view of the war. This is a follow up to the 2015 film "Guerrilla Fighters of Kurdistan" vimeo.com/129935570

“In March of 2015, I set off to the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Syria to begin a new personal project. In the beginning, I thought perhaps it would be a still photography trip only. But just as I left the door, I decided to grab my GoPro kit in case anything interesting happened and I could just film it myself. This is that footage.” —Joey L. Documentary about Kurdish guerrilla fighters in the struggle against ISIS.

In Faces of a Vanishing World, Joey leaves his fast-moving NYC-based photography career behind to pursue his other passion -- capturing images of tribes that are on the verge of extinction.This 1 hour pilot episode follows Joey, his assistant Ryan and their translator Anteneh as they complete Joey's Ethiopian photography series in the Omo Valley. The crew must overcome unforeseen obstacles as they produce the images.It all starts at a gallery installation in New York. The prints are removed from the walls, and taken back to the subjects in Ethiopia. Watch the reactions of Joey's subjects when they see a large scale portrait of themselves for the first time.All orders come with a 52 minute director's cut, with exclusive scenes not in the TV version. A portion of sales will be donated directly to Survival international, helping tribal people of the Omo Valley defend their rights, protect their lands and determine their own futures.