Hamoud al-Mousa wears a sleek black suit as he holds the 2015 International Press Freedom Award that was given to him and the dozens of other reporters behind citizen journalist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS). When a photographer attempts to get a smile from him at the award ceremony—offering a cringeworthy “you’re so serious, my friend”—al-Mousa remains stone-faced. Later, we learn his father and brother were assassinated by ISIS.
Located in Syria, on the banks of the Euphrates and about two hours south of the Turkish border, Raqqa was a sleepy town until 2013, when it became the first city to proclaim freedom from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Less than two years later, the city’s revolutionary momentum came to an abrupt halt when it was captured by ISIS, becoming the organization’s center of operations. City of Ghosts, the latest from documentarian Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land), recounts the concise but heady history of ongoing resistance in Raqqa—and examines why the men at the forefront of RBSS opt to fight ISIS’ arms with their words.