Escape From Isis director invited to speak to US Congress

24 July 2015

Escape From Isis director, Edward Watts has been invited to speak to the House of Representatives in the US Congress about his experience filming the documentary and particularly his firsthand account of meeting with survivors of ISIS’s brutality

The House of Representatives are also keen hear what Watts has learned from activists and other contributors about civilian life under ISIS. 

The invite comes just days after the Prime Minister cited the film in a speech setting out the British Government’s proposals to tackle extremism.

In his speech, David Cameron pledged to “de-glamourise extremism and ISIS.”

The PM said:  “These are people which throw people off buildings and burn people alive, and as the Channel 4 documentary [Escape From ISIS]  last week shows its men rape underage girls and stone innocent women to death.”

Escape From ISIS features exclusive covert footage, shot by an activist cell inside the so-called Islamic State and exposes the brutal regime suffered by millions of women living under ISIS - and the extraordinary story of a secret underground network trying to save them.

Powerful testimony from women trapped inside the terror state and those who managed to escape reveal the medieval barbarity many are forced to endure, including lashings, stonings and sexual slavery.  

Yet, amid the horror, the film exclusively shows the brave volunteers secretly plotting rescues from inside the Islamic State, negotiating with ISIS fighters to free their sex slaves, and literally carrying groups of freed women and children out over the frontlines.   

Over 1.2 million people have so far watched Escape From Isis, which is still available to view online via All 4 at:  http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/59588-006

The Guardian describe the film as “a breathtakingly bold piece of journalism”, while The Spectator say it is “such an important documentary it ought to rank with the footage of British troops liberating Belsen.”

Edward Watts is an acclaimed director who has covered many important public interest subjects from war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo to child poverty and exploitation in India. 

His films aspire to bring out the humanity and courage of fascinating characters who live in extraordinary, challenging circumstances.

 

ENDS