Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, author, activist.
Opening Friday, October 9th at the "Hamptons International Film Festival" and everywhere worldwide, He Named Me Malala is the anticipated documentary of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousefzai. Directed by acclaimed producer Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, 2006), (Waiting for Superman, 2010) the film has been described as a compliment to Malala's 2013 autobiography, I Am Malala (Little Brown & Company 2013) with author Christina Lamb. October 9th is a significant date for Yousefzai. It is the day she almost paid the ultimate price for speaking out against the atrocities the Taliban were committing in her homeland. Having taken control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, the Taliban violently enforced uncompromising restrictions on families, especially the rights of women and girls to receive an education. In 2012 the courageous young woman who stood up in protest for her independence was callously shot in the face by a group of global terrorists who wanted Malala silenced forever.
Critics of the documentary which opened in limited release on October 2nd commented that the film appears to be more promotional than educational. There are memorable scenes where the truly amazing, wise yet playful personality of a young woman emerges. Malala Yousefzai is nothing short of an extraordinarily resilient and brave activist who continues her fight for women and girls not only in Pakistan but all over the world. The story needs to be told again and again and perhaps the criticism of some writers and reviewers in the US is either due to our arrogance or our ignorance.
He Named Me Malala is rated PG-13. http://www.foxsearchlight.com/henamedmemalala/
http://hamptonsfilmfest.org/
