City Of Ghosts review: Media war being waged by extremists
NOT all war heroes carry a rifle. Director Matthew Heineman focuses on the soldiers fighting in a very new type of conflict - the media war being waged by extremists.
Director Matthew Heineman focuses on a very new type of conflict in City Of Ghosts
CITY OF GHOSTS (18, 92 mins) Director: Matthew Heineman
The horrifying and at times heartbreaking documentary City Of Ghosts introduces us to the ordinary Syrians who have dedicated their lives to countering the slick online propaganda being produced by IS.
Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, or RBSS, began as a small coalition of journalists, students and teachers who documented daily life in the terror group’s de facto capital. As IS bragged about the paradise of Islamic law, RBSS published footage of public beheadings.
When they talked of a city of plenty, RBSS showed footage of starving children queuing for soup. Heineman’s film follows the founding members as they flee their homeland to Turkey and then Germany when their comrades are executed at home and assassinated abroad.
The footage is chilling and the heroism of these traumatised but determined young men is unquestionable. “Smile,” says a photographer at glitzy press awards bash. “Why do you all look so serious?” It’s a grim subject but Heineman keeps an eye out for the ridiculous.