Sabaya (2021)
90%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Sabaya presents a scary and sobering look at human suffering — and the efforts of those dedicated to ending it.
Sabaya is a documentary that will have you on the edge of your seat, feeling like you’re watching a Bourne movie. But instead of Matt Damon, you have real-life heroes facing mammoth odds to rescue women and girls from the clutches of Daesh. It’s a harrowing and powerful portrait of survival, retrieval, and justice that will leave you feeling both anxious and exhilarated. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be left feeling guilty about the primitive world we can’t seem to escape from. But despite the tough viewing, Sabaya is a brilliant and unvarnished look at a major human rights crisis that needs to be seen.
Production Company(ies)
13 Productions, ARTE Fondazione Montecinemaverita
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Kurdish, Arabic
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Country of origin:Sweden
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 15, 2021
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Sabaya, Middle East, ISIS, sex slaves, rescue mission, human rights, Kurdish, Hogir Hirori, directed by Hogir Hirori, written by Hogir Hirori, produced by Hogir Hirori, produced by Antonio Russo Merenda, cinematographer Hogir Hirori, film editing by Hogir Hirori, reviewed by Becca Voelcker, reviewed by Christian Blauvelt, reviewed by Wendy Ide, reviewed by Simran Hans, reviewed by Marina Ashioti, reviewed by Phuong Le, reviewed by Cody Dericks, reviewed by Phil Guie, reviewed by Marlow Stern, reviewed by Dennis Schwartz, reviewed by Pat Mullen, starring Mahmud, Al-Hol, Syria, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, human suffering, sex trafficking, women’s rights, rescue mission, Yazidi women, girls, danger, courage, survival, justice, crisis, raw, unvarnished, on-the-ground storytelling, heroes, mammoth odds, anxiety-inducing, powerful, intimate, challenging, visceral, tense, revealing, harrowing, sobering, scary
Worldwide gross: $14,280
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,531
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,127
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,694
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Hogir Hirori – Writer
Hogir Hirori – Producer
Antonio Russo Merenda – Producer
Hogir Hirori – Cinematographer
Hogir Hirori – Film Editing
Director(s)
Hogir Hirori
Writer(s)
Hogir Hirori
Producer(s)
Hogir Hirori, Antonio Russo Merenda
Film Festivals
Sundance, Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (47)
Hirori is careful to underplay neither Mahmud and his male colleagues’ tireless compassion nor the complicity of Daesh women who we witness concealingsabayafromrescuers.
December 3, 2021
Becca Voelcker
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
A documentary by way of a “Bourne” movie, but so much more an act of daring.
August 22, 2021 | Rating: A
Christian Blauvelt
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
A riveting documentary which is as tense as it is revealing.
August 22, 2021
Wendy Ide
Screen International
TOP CRITIC
[A] sensitive, frequently harrowing observational documentary…
August 22, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A challenging watch, but visceral and powerful nonetheless.
August 19, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Marina Ashioti
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
The first 20 minutes of Hogir Hirori’s extraordinary documentary has the beat of a gripping thriller, full of hushed voices, car chases, and the terrifying sounds of gunfight.
August 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Phuong Le
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Beyond being informative, it is a harrowing and surprisingly exhilarating portrait of survival, retrieval, and justice.
July 8, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Cody Dericks
Next Best Picture
It’s alternately raw, angry, and bitter, but never anything less than powerful and intimate.
February 27, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Phil Guie
Film-Forward.com
It’s an anxiety-inducing portrait of courage and suffering.
January 4, 2022
Marlow Stern
The Daily Beast
It takes us into a primitive world that we can’t seem to escape from without feeling guilty.
November 14, 2021 | Rating: A-
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Sabaya is tough viewing and a potent snapshot of a major human rights crisis.
November 7, 2021
Pat Mullen
POV Magazine
Brilliant, unvarnished, on-the-ground storytelling of real-life heroes facing mammoth odds.
September 11, 2021
Hanna Flint
The New Arab…
Plot
Sabaya follows a group’s dangerous mission to save Yazidi women and girls who are being held as sex slaves in the most dangerous ISIS camp in the Middle East.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about Sabaya, but it does mention that the documentary is in Kurdish language.
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