The film portrays Bahar, played by Farahani, a lawyer who was visiting her hometown in Kurdistan, along with her husband and child, when they were ambushed and taken captive by ISIS in 2014. She later escapes captivity to take up arms and becomes commander-in-chief of a Kurdish all-female battalion named “The Girls of the Sun,” as described by the international film website Screen Daily this week.
Best Actress winner at the Cannes Film Festival, Emmanuelle Bercot, co-stars with Farahani as a journalist embedded with the female fighters.
In an interview with Deadline Hollywood last year, director Husson said she was inspired by the strength and resilience of women who took up arms to fight against the extremist group that swept across Iraq and Syria after thousands of Yezidis were kidnapped or killed.
Producer Didar Domehri describes the film as “largely a tale of resistance, sisterhood and women joining forces to stand against barbarism.”
“Girls of the Sun will of course be politically-minded but the main idea is to make an epic film that can appeal to broad audiences by focusing on the tale of this heroic woman,” Domehri said.
Director Husson added, “It’s high time a movie about female warriors was made. They’ve participated in wars since the dawn of time but have never been represented on screen.”
The film is currently in post-production and was filmed in Georgia and France in September and October. It is expected to premiere at international film festivals later this year.
