"Hêza" (Strength), directed by Derya Deniz (2021)
Hêza (Strength), a documentary, was directed by Derya Deniz and released in October 2021
The film was produced by the Rojava Film Commune. It was shot in North and East Syria, Raqqa, and Shingal. The music was composed by Mehmûd Berazi.
The film tells the story of Hêza, a real-life Yazidi woman. On August 3, 2014, the Islamist barbarians of ISIS attacked Shingal and captured Hêza, a Yazidi teenager, and members of her family. They sold her into slavery and took her to Mosul, then to Raqqa, where she lived in captivity for two years. She tried to commit suicide. Helped by a Kurdish family, she escaped from ISIS and returned to Shingal. There she joined the Shingal Women’s Units (YJŞ) so she could help rescue other women from Daesh. In 2016 she returned to Raqqa, this time as a YJŞ commander, and participated in the SDF operation to liberate the city. Afterward she visited the Kurdish family who helped her escape.
The film’s trailer. The film’s website.
Hêza has won numerous awards:
Best Feature Documentary in the Boden International Film Festival
Best Documentary in the Druk International Film Festival in Bhutan
Best Feature Documentary in the Los Angeles Independent Women’s Film Festival
Amnesty International Human Rights Award in the Sicilia Ambiente Film Festival
Don Quixote Award at the Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival in Portugal
