Film Screening: Hell on Earth 

The OPC is hosting a special screening and discussion of the documentary Hell On Earth: The Fall Of Syria And The Rise of ISIS, with filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested.

The film puts the atrocities of this brutal paramilitary group in historical context, tracing the roots of ISIS to the rebel movement against Bashar al-Assad in Syria as well as U.S. mishandling of the aftermath of the Iraq War. The filmmakers also examine colonial control and revolution around the world, challenging  the notion that ISIS has introduced a new brand of humanitarian . The film was cut from 1,000 hours of footage that includes that of a family living under ISIS control that finally fled to Turkey, Kurdish fighters in Sinjar and Shia militias in Iraq as well as al-Qaida-affiliated fighters in and around Aleppo and Raqqa.

Junger and Quested previously collaborated on a trio of films about the war in Afghanistan: Restrepo, The Last Patrol and Which Way is the Front Line From Here.

Hell On Earth debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in April and aired on National Geographic, which produced the film.