Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may have lost control of the Iraqi city of Mosul, but they left behind their deadliest weapon: children. For an ideology aimed at raising the great universal caliphate, where people are either loyal jihadists or expendable infidels, young minds are pliable, in wide supply and a guarantee of future armies. Acclaimed journalists Francesca Mannocchi and Alessio Romenzi returned to Mosul in 2016, just months after Iraqi forces and their allies liberated the city. For two years, they documented children from both sides of the conflict, including 13-year-old Omar, who was indoctrinated as an ISIS fighter by his own father, and 12-year-old Yousef, who watched his family resist and be slaughtered in front of him. In chilling interviews and starkly beautiful compositions, this searing indictment leaves little hope for the coming generations—lost souls either frozen in trauma or hungry for revenge. Myrocia Watamaniuk
Content notice: Film contains some graphic imagery.
Made In Italy program presented in partnership with the Italian Trade Commission and Istituto Luce-Cinecittà.