City of Ghosts review: could be the definitive Syria documentary
★★★★★
January 27, 2017
Matthew Heineman’s return to Sundance after his Oscar-nominated Cartel Land is a triumphant one. Where his previous film was a journalistic masterclass in taking access to the extreme, City of Ghosts instead turns the camera on heroic journalists themselves. In doing so, Heineman may have made the definitive contemporary documentary about the tragedy of Syria, as well as an epoch-defining piece on modern media tactics.
Sudden Impact: How Sundance Documentaries Have Gained (or Lost) Relevance in the Trump Age
January 26, 2017
From Ferguson to Syria, the citizen journalists profiled in “Cartel Land” director Matthew Heineman’s latest engrossing high-stakes doc-thriller “City of Ghosts” also present a stirring and disturbing vision of protest against all odds.
Sundance ’17: Heineman’s “City of Ghosts” Tells Harrowing Human Tale
January 25, 2017
This year, [Matthew Heineman] is back at Sundance with City of Ghosts, a powerful cinematic experience that follows the journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” (RBSS) – a handful of anonymous activists and unwitting journalists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014 on a mission to get their stories out to the world undercover, on the run and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the great evils in the world today.
Matthew Heineman: “I Don’t Dream About Projects – Projects Hit Me in the Face” | Sundance 2017
January 23, 2017
“I don’t script what’s going to happen in the future.”
Documentary ‘City of Ghosts’ Is A Wide-Eyed, Jaw Dropping Look At The Battle Against ISIS [Sundance Review]
January 21, 2017
“City of Ghosts” is documentarian Matthew Heineman’s third film to bow at Sundance, after 2012’s health care doc “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare” (co-directed with Susan Froemke), and 2015’s searing “Cartel Land,” an immersive, bone-rattling film embedded on the front lines of the drug cartel war in Mexico. This year, he brings “City of Ghosts,” to Park City, which could be described as “ ‘Cartel Land’ but with ISIS,” however Heineman’s too sophisticated a filmmaker for that facile comparison.
Sundance: Documentary ‘City of Ghosts’ Wins Candescent Award
January 19, 2017
Matthew Heineman’s documentary “City of Ghosts” has won this year’s Candescent award at the Sundance Film Festival. The Candescent award was created by actress-producer Lilly Hartley in partnership with the Sundance Institute documentary film program. The award goes to a powerful social-issue film that has been supported during production by the DFP and premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
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January 19, 2017
As evidenced by the jaw-dropping footage in “Cartel Land,” Matthew Heineman is one of today’s most daring documentarians. With “City of Ghosts,” he dares to embed himself with a band of Syrian activists working to combat ISIS.
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January 18, 2017
“City of Ghosts” is ultimately a story of heroism, documenting the courage of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,” a group of citizen journalists who risk their lives to bring footage of ISIS’s atrocities in Syria to the wider world. It’s powerful stuff and should factor into the best documentary Oscar race. It could even win the golden guy.
Sundance 2017: The 10 Movies You Need To See
January 17, 2017
This year’s documentary slate looks especially promising, with an emphasis on filmmakers responding to current events and no fewer than three ripped-from-the-headlines accounts about the civil war in Syria, including Last Men in Aleppo, Cries From Syria, and this doc about citizen journalists taking on ISIS from Cartel Land director Matthew Heineman.
Sundance 2017: The 10 Most Anticipated Films We Can’t Wait to See
January 16, 2017
One of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen at Sundance is Cartel Land, an intimate and remarkable look at the tensions along the US-Mexico border. Filmmaker Matthew Heineman established connections with both sides to tell two stories, embedding himself directly into the conflict, and he deservingly won the Best Cinematography award at Sundance 2015.
Our 20 Most-Anticipated Films at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival
January 16, 2017
Coming off the Oscar-nominated Cartel Land, director Matthew Heineman is returning to Sundance and has once again embedded himself into a vital part of global conflict. City of Ghosts finds the director capturing a group of journalists who were in exile after ISIS took over their homeland in 2014. With the makings of one of the most essential documentaries of the year, hopefully Heineman once again proves himself as an superb visual journalist.