This film looks to shed light on the rigor behind journalism and why it's all worth it. It’s a piece of work about pursuing the truth wherever it may lead and bringing that truth back in word form for the world to read. This film depicts the risk, guts and nerve shown by Rukmini Callimachi, the lead New York Times reporter covering the Islamic State. The film takes us on a journey through leads, sources and contacts across the world as Rukmini looks to understand the intricate details of how ISIS functions as an organization. After years of developing trusted contacts and collecting evidence on the ground in Iraq, Callimachi imbeds with Iraqi Army forces just as they liberate Mosul. Her instinct leads to a groundbreaking discovery among the rubble: a treasure trove of files that reveals the workings one of the world’s most deadly terrorist organizations.

The film launched at a time of renewed discussion on ISIS, Syria and terrorism. The script had to bring to life this incendiary subject matter while balancing the journalistic integrity of The New York Times. The script puts us in the reporter’s stream of consciousness, adopting her tone of voice and while also maintaining The Times’s inimitable house style. The script, a connected thread of words that appear on screen creating the effect of a continuously rewritten headline, was central to putting to putting the viewer in the Callimachi’s psyche as she forged deeper behind the lines of the world’s most feared terror organization.

Source

Source Shares

Source Shares ISIS Defector

Source Shares ISIS Defector Lead

ISIS Defector

Email ISIS Defector

A Call With ISIS Defector

ISIS Defector

Call With ISIS Defector

Meeting With ISIS Defector

ISIS Defector in Canada

ISIS Defector

ISIS Defector Reveals

ISIS Defector Reveals Brutal Initiation

Reveals How

Reveals Brutal

Reveals Why

Reveals Where

Reveals When

When

When Lead Goes Cold

Lead Goes Silent

New Lead

New Contact

Contact Points to

to Small Village Southeast of Mosul, Iraq

A Trip to Small Village

to Omar Khan.

to Omar Khan. ISIS Traces.

to

to Site 2.

to Site 2. Nothing. (*numbers count up fast*)

Site 4. Nothing.(*numbers count up fast*)

Site 32.

Site 32. Nothing.

Site 33.

Site 33. Nothing. (*numbers count up fast*)

Site 46.

Site 46. Nothing.(*numbers count up fast*)

Site 87.

Site 88.

Site 89.

Site 90. Already Cleared Out.

Site 91. Already Cleared Out.

92. Already Cleared Out.

Already Cleared Out.

Out

Out of Time

On Plane Out of Time

On Plane Back Home

On February

On March

On April

On May

On June

On July 7

Iraqi Forces Begin Assault on Mosul

Go to Mosul

Mosul

Mosul Too Dangerous to Report

Mosul Active War Zone

Mosul Destroyed by Air Strikes

Mosul Front Line With Iraqi Forces

Camp With Iraqi Forces

Camp on Rooftop

Sleepless Night of Gunfire on Rooftop

Tip-Off

Tip-Off Location Hisba

Tip-Off Leads to Final Stronghold of ISIS

Leads to Church Marked With (arabic)

Leads to Searching Headquarters

Leads to

Leads to Searching Rubble

Searching

Searching Building

Searching Building Avoiding Mines

Searching Kid’s Bag

Searching Kid’s Bag Full of Explosive Powder

Searching Rooms

Searching Room

Room

Room Contains

Room Contains ISIS Briefcase

ISIS Briefcase Contains

ISIS ID

ISIS Papers

ISIS Financial Documents

ISIS Files

ISIS Files Verified by One Source

ISIS Files Verified by (numbers count up) Sources

ISIS Files Confirm Brutality

ISIS Files Show Bureaucracy

ISIS Files Reveal Functioning State

The ISIS Files:

The ISIS Files: When Terrorists Run City Hall

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI

APRIL 4, 2018