(Children of Isis, the War’s Damned)

70 minutes, 2021
Director: Anne POIRET (France)
Production: Cinétévé (France)

There are thought to be tens of thousands of children of Isis – their parents pledged allegiance to the caliphate and now, in post-Isis Iraq, they are stigmatized, with no legal existence. Without papers they have no access to medical care, food aid or, most importantly, school. Others, recruited or kidnapped and then brain-washed by the terrorist organization as the Jihad’s helpers, are today imprisoned in inhuman conditions. Tens of thousands of others are still held in displaced persons’ camps in Syria, along with the most radicalized women. Their catastrophic humanitarian situation has been further weakened by the Coronavirus crisis. This first-ever investigation allows these minors to talk, children left behind by the new Iraq, whom only a handful of NGO’s are trying to help. The documentary is a journey across lands blasted by war – the Mosul region, Iraqi Kurdistan and northeastern Syria. The film-makers set off to meet this young generation which, having survived first the Islamic State’s rule, then the war of liberation with its catalogue of violence, is now trying to find a future somewhere between resilience and revenge. How can we help them find a place in society and prevent them from becoming a threat to the international community?

Winner of the 2007 Albert Londres Award, author and journalist, Anne POIRET has been making documentaries for 15 years, in particular: “Mon Pays Fabrique des Armes”, (France 5); “Syrie: Mission Impossible” (Arte); “Bienvenue au Réfugistan” (Arte); “Soudan du sud: fabrique d’un Etat” (Arte) and “Namibie: le Génocide du IIème Reich” (France 5). She is especially interested in the grey zones of post-war. Her latest documentary “Mossoul après la guerre” (Arte), won the Special Jury Award at the FIGRA 2020.

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