The Other Side of the River

Synopsis

At only 19, Hala fought in one of the Kurdish armed forces’ all-female brigades to liberate her hometown from ISIS. Now, working as a policewoman, she has a new mission: To free her younger sisters from the strict rule of her father. German filmmaker Antonia Kilian had set out to make a portrait of revolutionary feminism in the Middle East, but what she finds is a young woman ensnared in a far more complex situation, where the fight against oppression isn’t only on the battlefield but much closer to home. At a time when fundamentalist forces threaten women’s rights around the world, Hala’s story is urgent and absorbing and serves as a stark reminder of the desperate measures people will take in the search for freedom.