He Named Me Malala

[projekktor id=’21155′]

He Named Me Malala is a documentary directed by David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting For Superman). The film is inspired by the life of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and her memoir I Am Malala. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.

HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this past July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund. The film gives us an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl’s life – from her close relationship with her father who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speech at the UN, to her everyday life with her parents and brothers.

While the film is grounded in Malala’s inspiring story, Guggenheim wanted to look at how her family influenced her growing up. “Malala’s is an incredible story of a girl who risked her life to speak out for what is right. But my first instinct in making this movie was that it is very much about a family, about a father’s love and about a girl who feels empowered to do amazing things.”

He Named Me Malala is rated PG.