Hirori is careful to underplay neither Mahmud and his male colleagues' tireless compassion nor the complicity of Daesh women who we witness concealingsabayafromrescuers.

| Dec 3, 2021

A documentary by way of a "Bourne" movie, but so much more an act of daring.

| Original Score: A | Aug 22, 2021

A riveting documentary which is as tense as it is revealing.

| Aug 22, 2021

[A] sensitive, frequently harrowing observational documentary...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2021

A challenging watch, but visceral and powerful nonetheless.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2021

The first 20 minutes of Hogir Hirori's extraordinary documentary has the beat of a gripping thriller, full of hushed voices, car chases, and the terrifying sounds of gunfight.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 18, 2021

It's a nerve-wracking on-the-ground account, which elevates the presence of a camera to relate its devastating, outrage-inducing story.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 5, 2021

Hundreds of women have been liberated, Hirori tells us, paying tribute to the selfless efforts of Mahmoud and others. There are thousands still waiting.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 4, 2021

It's a real heartbreaker, and I'm glad it exists.

| Jul 31, 2021

It's quite powerful... The only problem I have with the film -- and I guess this has to do with the nature of how it was filmed -- is that you never really know why these two guys are doing what they're doing.

| Jul 31, 2021

One of the best docs of the year is Sabaya, a suspenseful film following brave agents who put their lives on the line to rescue Yazidi sex slaves from the clutches of ISIS.

| Jul 30, 2021

With "Sabaya," we witness documentary filmmaking at its boldest; we find hope in seeing not only the triumphs of the Yazidi Home Center but also what the medium can do.

| Jul 30, 2021

There is so much earth-shattering bravery on display in the miraculous Sabaya that you wonder how the Swedish-Kurdish director Hogir Hirori managed to pull off a documentary that avoids showy, predictable notes of brouhaha throughout.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 30, 2021

In a film about the light that breaks through the darkest of darknesses, these women shine the brightest.

| Jul 29, 2021

As a journalistic depiction of the rescue operations as they happen, Sabaya brims with heart-pounding tension and immediacy.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 29, 2021

The film's terseness could make it too cryptic for some, but that doesn't blunt the impact of its most visceral or tender moments.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 25, 2021

Sweden had a strong showing at Sundance in 2021 and Sabaya might be their best offering. Director Hogir Hirori has made an emotionally haunting film about real-life super heroes in Mahmud, Ziyad and their group...

| Feb 20, 2021

A riveting, though often meandering story, about a select few working to reunite the families torn apart by an endless civil war.

| Feb 3, 2021

Impressively exciting and strikingly novel.

| Feb 3, 2021

A small band of volunteers attempt to rescue female ISIS slaves from a Syrian border camp in Hogir Hirori's gripping, harrowing, superb doc.

| Feb 2, 2021