This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for 20th Century Fox. I received information to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
I received an advanced copy of the new documentary, He Named Me Malala, by acclaimed filmmaker Davis Guggenheim. It’s the intimate portrait of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. When she was just 15 years old she was singled out and attacked because she was advocating for girls to go to school. The Taliban shot her and two of her friends as they were returning home on a school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. What happened to her sparked outrage around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leader for girls’ education globally with her Malala Fund.

HE NAMED ME MALALA: Malala Yousafzai in Birmingham, England. Dec 17, 2013. Photo by Caroline Furneaux. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
The documentary is very moving. It begins with the story of another Malala, for whom she was named, who went out on the battlefield and motivated the troops when their land was being taken. She died on that battlefield. It seems as if this Malala was destined to follow in her footsteps, except she has risen from her attack and become even stronger and louder to lead the charge for girls across the world to get an education.
The film gives us an inside look at her life from being a typical teenager at school, not doing so well on her school work, to meeting the Queen of England and President Obama to speaking in front of the UN. You get to see her with her brothers, and you get an intimate portrait of her relationship with her father, who just adores her.
It’s an emotional roller coaster as the story builds up to her attack. I just cried when I saw the actual videos of her as she heals and improves. They really weren’t sure if she would be the same or have severe disabilities after her attack. She has made a remarkable recovery and gone on to do wonderful things. She really has no fear.
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Don’t miss He Named Me Malala on Monday 2/29! It premiers commercial free 8PM ET/7 CST on the National Geographic Channel.