A documentary following two survivors of the Ezidi Genocide of 2014 has won the Best Feature Documentary award at the 11th Forest City Film Festival in Canada.
Director Bared Maronian announced that 10 Years On: The Ezidi Genocide received the award following its screening at the festival in London, Ontario, on 25 October.
The 52-minute film follows Hala Safil and Faiza Qasim, two Ezidi women who survived ISIS captivity as children. Rather than treating the genocide as a closed chapter, the documentary examines what came afterwards: escape, displacement, trauma, family separation and the long process of rebuilding a life.
Maronian, an Armenian-American filmmaker and founder of Armenoid Productions, made the documentary for the tenth anniversary of the genocide. The film was released in 2024 as part of the Faces of Persecution documentary series and is distributed internationally by Java Films.
The Forest City Film Festival, held annually in London, Ontario, screened the documentary as part of its 2026 programme.
International recognition of films documenting the genocide helps preserve survivor testimony and bring the realities of ISIS captivity to audiences outside Iraq. The stories of Ezidi survivors must continue to be heard, not only as memories of 2014, but as evidence of crimes that still require justice, accountability and meaningful support for those affected.
