City of ghosts dir. by Matthew Heineman
This documentary follows the struggle of a group of Syrian activists who fought under the banner “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” – after their city was occupied by ISIS in 2014. The film follows these young men who are effectively citizen journalists and who risk their life to combat ISIS as they manage to post videos on social media while no domestic or international journalist could work in the city of Raqqa, that was totally cut off from the outside world. They eventually have to flee, first to Istanbul, then to Germany and are condemned to a life undercover, always communicating with their contacts in Raqqa who provide the footage of the atrocities being committed by the terrorist state. This film is a tribute to the importance of citizen journalism and how the courage of a few can win the media war against ISIS. It also makes one reconsider the position of refugees and asylum seekers in Germany which is psychologically very difficult.
Last update