SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — "Sisters In Arms” from French director Caroline Fourest is a bitter reminder of the massacre of the Yazidi minority group by Islamic State militants after they took control of the town of Sinjar in 2014. Unlike other movies on the subject, it focuses on how Kurdish and foreign women of different backgrounds and beliefs fought back against the jihadists. 

"Sisters In Arms" was shown for the first time in the Middle East at the opening ceremony of the 4th Sulaimaniyah International Film Festival on Oct. 1. Many of its scenes — particularly those of female fighters fighting the extremists — brought cheers, whistles and applause from the audience.

The film starts with an idyllic spring scene in the Kurdish countryside between a Yazidi girl named Zara and her two brothers. It's not long before heavily armed IS militants raid the village of the Yazidis, whom IS describes as “devil worshippers” and demand convert to Islam or face death. Zara’s father, who refuses to convert, is killed. Zara is raped and sold as a sex slave to a British IS fighter. She manages to escape to a liberated area, where she joins the foreign female fighters who eventually rescue Zara’s little brother and help defeat IS in a town that resembles Sinjar. In the final scene, Zara and "Mother Sun" — an older and more seasoned fighter — stand together victoriously, both aware of the hardships the Kurds still have to endure for self-determination.

Maya Sansa, an Italian actress of Iranian descent who played the role of one of the female fighters, told Al-Monitor, “I played ‘Mother Sun’ — a female fighter fighting alongside the Kurds against Daesh [the Arabic term for IS]. I think it is a very important role, and I am much honored that Caroline offered that role to me. We bring the message that Kurds are brave and your fight is so important to us, even foreigners want to join you.”