Meeting ISIS

ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has increasingly dominated world headlines, especially in the wake of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. ISIS, which intends to create a new caliphate in the Middle East, has achieved considerable success in accumulating territory in Iraq and Syria—using the most brutal methods, including mass executions and publicly broadcast beheadings. Meeting ISIS is a very relevant documentary that, unfortunately, is compromised by a lack of documentation on the source material. Some locations and interviewees are identified, but many sequences appear to have been staged, and the voice of the interviewer is continuously distorted (plus, no production credits are listed). On the other hand, it does take the viewer behind the lines in Syria and briefly sketches the origin and growth of the terrorist group while also showing the divisions between ISIS and other factions such as the al-Nusra Front—making it clear that virtually all of them are well-funded and have supplanted the government in providing services to the general populace in areas under their control. Featuring grainy explicit footage of atrocities (always preceded by a viewer warning), this is an intriguing and disturbing film, but also one that suffers from lack of references and documentation. Still, given the huge current interest in ISIS, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)