Witness (2022) Imad’s Childhood: Life after ISIL
Can a four-year-old child recover from spending half his life in ISIL captivity? How does a four-year-old recover after spending half his life in ISIL captivity? After two years in ISIL (ISIS) captivity, four-year-old Imad, his little brother and mother are released into a displaced persons’ camp for Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan. Imad has already spent half his life enduring terror and abuse. He cannot communicate with his family, because he can only speak Arabic. He hits and spits, and the only game he plays is pretending to be an ISIL fighter who shoots, kills and blows things up. With hesitant steps, Imad starts the hard road to recovery, guided by his mother, grandmother and teacher. Healing from trauma is hard for them all. A film by Zahavi Sanjavi. Published on Wednesday 17 August 2022.
An inspiring documentary series that brings world issues into focus through compelling human stories.
-
1Imad's Childhood - Journeyman Pictures Imad's Childhood Feature - 76 min Broadcast - 52 min Can a child recover from spending half his life in ISIS captivity? Imad's Childhood After two and a half years in ISIS captivity, Imad and his family are released into a displaced persons' camp. Not yet five, Imad has already spent over half his life enduring terror, abuse and "training" designed to make him heartless. Speaking only Arabic, he cannot communicate with his family and the only means of expression at his disposal is violence. This poignant film follows his hesitant steps on the hard road to recovery. Country: Iraq Running Time: 76:00 (Feature), 52:00 (Broadcast) Date: 11 Nov, 2021 Producer: AVB Production AB Original: HD Ref No: 8165 [Journeyman Pictures, Monday 03 February 2025, 15:14:59]
-
2Zahavi Sanjavi - Writer and Director Zahavi Sanjavi was born in 1967 in Arbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. Since 1990 he has lived in Sweden. Zahavi pursued his studies in the field of scriptwriting and filmmaking at All-Russian State University of Cinematography in Moscow. Within nine years he worked for TV in Iraqi Kurdistan. Zahavi works in Sweden on documentary and feature films as a director, scriptwriter and producer. [Journeyman Pictures, Monday 03 February 2025, 15:15:21]
Primary Title
- Witness
Episode Title
- Imad’s Childhood: Life after ISIL
Date Broadcast
- Monday 22 August 2022
Original Broadcast Date
- Thursday 18 August 2022
Release Year
- 2022
Start Time
- 08 : 05
Finish Time
- 08 : 56
Duration
- 51:00
Channel
- Al Jazeera English
Broadcaster
- Al Jazeera Media Network
Programme Description
- An inspiring documentary series that brings world issues into focus through compelling human stories.
Episode Description
- Can a four-year-old child recover from spending half his life in ISIL captivity? How does a four-year-old recover after spending half his life in ISIL captivity? After two years in ISIL (ISIS) captivity, four-year-old Imad, his little brother and mother are released into a displaced persons’ camp for Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan. Imad has already spent half his life enduring terror and abuse. He cannot communicate with his family, because he can only speak Arabic. He hits and spits, and the only game he plays is pretending to be an ISIL fighter who shoots, kills and blows things up. With hesitant steps, Imad starts the hard road to recovery, guided by his mother, grandmother and teacher. Healing from trauma is hard for them all. A film by Zahavi Sanjavi. Published on Wednesday 17 August 2022.
Classification
- Not Classified
Owning Collection
- Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captioning Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Notes
- The following advisory precedes this episode of Al Jazeera English's "Witness", "Imad's Childhood": WARNING — This film contains disturbing testimony and scenes of antisocial behaviours featuring children. The associated extended descriptions are retrieved from "https://www.journeyman.tv/film/8165".
Genres
- Community
- Documentary
Hosts
- Maryam Nemazee (Presenter · Headlines · London)
Contributors
- Zahavi Sanjavi (Producer)
- AVB Production (Production Unit)