The 2015 London Film Festival is upon us, and I was lucky enough to bag some tickets! First up, the London premiere of He Named Me Malala. 

Inspired by the book I am Malala (which I have already downloaded a sample of to my Kindle), Davis Guggenheim’s documentary on Malala Yousafzai is exactly that- inspiring.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard about Malala as the then 15 year old Pakistani girl who took a bullet to the head from the Taliban because of her stand on girls’ education. Now at the age of 18, some of her accolades include 10 GCSEs, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize and being the co-author of her bestselling book.

The style of the documentary follows a loose chronological order of Malala’s life, with real-life clips of her and her family coupled with animations, news clips and dramatic recreations.

Seeing and hearing all the great things Malala has done, it’s easy to forget that she is still a teenager and I think this is what Guggenheim does his best to capture. The scenes of Malala doing her homework at home, googling pictures of her celebrity crushes, not scoring 100% in all her class tests, being a sister to her brothers- scenes which normalise Malala and show that she is still a normal teenager, these are the scenes I found the most heartfelt and endearing.

“Awards don’t matter, change matters.”.

This quote, as well as virtually her entire 2013 UN speech, stuck with me after the film. Despite not winning the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, Malala’s day seems to continue as normal and her quest for the right to female education and equality continues. As someone who loves to have a trophy on my shelf, a medal around my neck or any form of recognition for good work, this quote resonated with me. “Awards don’t matter, change matters.”, and it couldn’t be truer. Malala’s story is unique and inspiring, and so she continues to utilise her story and status to pioneer change.

As silly as it sounds, I felt I got to know Malala and her family from this documentary and I relished every second of it.

I walked out of the cinema (after shedding a few tears I must admit!) feeling empowered, inspired and thankful. If an 87 minute snippet into an 18 year old girl’s life can do that, then I certainly must recommend this “film” to everyone!

Until next time x

Useful links:

Malala Fund- https://www.malala.org/malalas-story

British Film Institute- http://www.bfi.org.uk/

London Film Festival- http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff