Mediha

Curated by Somar Jbawi

The award-winning documentary Mediha by Hasan Oswald provides the starting point for exploring questions of survival, authorship, and documentary ethics. We are excited to follow the screening with a talk featuring Hasan Oswald and Mediha Ibrahim, moderated by Afsun Moshiry. 

Mediha tells the story of Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad, a Yazidi woman who, at the age of ten, was abducted during ISIS’s 2014 assault on Sinjar and subjected to years of sexual enslavement. Years after her escape, Mediha begins to document her own story—through video diaries, return visits to sites of captivity, and reflections on the traces of violence she endured. (The Goethe-Institut in Exile)

The Goethe-Institut is Germany’s international cultural institute, promoting global cultural exchange and German language learning. Through worldwide partnerships, it connects artists, ideas, and communities across borders.

Hasan Oswald is an award-winning documentary film director. His debut Higher Love won the Slamdance 2020 Grand Jury Award, and his 2023 project Mediha on the Yazidi genocide premiered at DOC NYC 2023 in the US Competition.

Mediha Alhamad is a Yazidi survivor of ISIS whose story is the subject of the award-winning documentary Mediha (2023), directed by filmmaker Hasan Oswald. 

Afsun Moshiry is a Shiraz-born, Mannheim-raised film curator, programmer, and creative producer currently based in Berlin. She is part of the Berlinale Forum team and curates programmes for Sinema Transtopia.

Somar Jbawi is a Syrian filmmaker, curator and activist as well as the founder and director of the Film Festival in Exile (2015).