The Return: Life After ISIS

2021 • 90’ & 52’ • Spain/UK

With unprecedented access we enter the prison camp Roj in Syria, which holds families of ISIS fighters. Among them, probably the most famous British recruit Shamima Begum, who fled London when she was just 15, and Hoda Muthana from USA who allegedly incited her followers on Twitter to support the Islamic State. Universally reviled by the media, they now tell their stories for the very first time.

Director:
Alba Sotorra Clua

Producers:
Alba Sotorra Clua, Vesna Cudic & Carles Torras

Executive Producers:
Sam Collyns, Poppy Dixon, Jack Oliver & Jordi Ambros

  • Best Documentary [Winner]
    — Premis Gaudí
    Best Documentary [Winner]
    — Broadcast Awards

    Best Single Documentary [Nominee]
    — Royal Television Awards
    Best Single Documentary [Winner]
    — Edinburgh TV Awards

    Laya Award from the Office of Civil and Political Rights
    Young Audience Award
    — Docs Barcelona 2021

    "Special Mention" – Best Documentary Competion
    — Warsaw International Film Festival

    News & Current Affairs [Nominee]
    – Rose d'Or Awards

    Best Documentary [Nominee]
    – Premios Goya

    SXSW 2021 [World Premiere]
    Hot Docs 2021
    Cleveland International Film Festival 2021
    Seattle International Film Festival 2021
    Docs Barcelona 2021
    Human Rights Watch Film Festival New York 2021
    Sheffield Doc Fest 2021
    Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2021
    DOXA Film Festival 2021
    Dokufest 2021
    Jerusalem Film Festival 2021
    Nashville Film Festival 2021
    Kurdish Film Festival New York 2021
    Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2021
    Zurich Film Festival 2021
    Heartland Film Festival 2021
    Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2021
    Warsaw International Film Festival 2021
    Tallgrass Film Festival 2021
    Bergen International Film Festival 2021
    UNAFF International Documentary Film Festival 2021
    Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival 2021
    Denver Film Festival 2021
    Hawaii International Film Festival 2021
    Festival Protesta 2021
    SomCinema Lleida International Film Festival 2021
    Festival Cine por Mujeres 2021
    Rocky Mountains Women's Film Festival 2021
    International Crime and Punishment Film Festival 2021
    Festival REC Tarragona 2021
    Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles 2021
    Antenna International Documentary Film Festival 2022
    Sedona International Film Festival 2022
    Docville 2022
    Espanoramas. Spanish Film Festival 2022
    cinEScultura Festival 2022
    Festival Internacional de Cine Político 2022
    Film Festival Diritti Umani Lugano 2022
    One World Film Festival 2022
    Move it Festival 2022

  • “An extraordinary humanitarian achievement.”— Cine Addiction

    “Stirring, sobering, and vitally humane.”
    — Variety

     “Remarkable access.”
    “Incredible achievement.”    — Screen Daily

     “A sharp sense of structure and the largest of hearts.”
    "Timely, immersive, and deeply poignant."     — Film Threat

    “I was astounded by The Return. I was astonished by its access, astonished by its empathy and astonished by its existence… simply a superb piece of filmmaking”— Film Inquiry

Filmmaker’s Biography

Alba Sotorra Clua is an independent filmmaker and producer, the founder of the Barcelona-based production company Alba Sotorra S.L. Alba has worked in Syria, Afghanistan, Korea, Bosnia, Cuba, the US, Guatemala, England, Iran, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, and Qatar, and has lived long periods in the Middle East. Her films have premiered at such international festivals as HotDocs, Shanghai International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary, and Seminci. Her projects include documentary feature film GAME OVER (2015), which received the VIII Gaudí Award from the Catalan Film Academy and COMANDANTE ARIAN (2018), nominated for the Gaudí Awards for Best Documentary in 2019.