Social Issues, Observational, Character Driven
Justin ONG
All over the world, ISIS supporters have returned home. Terrorists who¡¯ve completed their prison terms are also being released. What do we do with them? Our documentary follows the ¡®Terrorist Whisperer¡¯, NOOR HUDA, who helps returning and released extremists to reintegrate into society in Indonesia. As a teenager in school, Huda was radicalized by an extremist group. After graduation, Huda, ends up working for the Washington Post. In 2002, he¡¯s sent to cover the Bali Bombings. There, he makes the shocking discovery – one of the bombers was his ex-schoolmate. Since then, Huda has been trying to figure out, what turns ordinary people into extremists and how we can deradicalize them. Our story explores Huda¡¯s as he works with two ¡®clients¡¯ - a recently released ex-jihadist, and a former ISIS supporter who just returned from Syria. Huda explores what radicalized them in the first place and what made them eventually reject it. If Huda himself found a way out, why can¡¯t others?
Justin ONG
Justin is an award-winning director who has directed documentaries for National Geographic Channel, History Channel, BBC, NHK, Al Jazeera and Channel NewsAsia. His films have screened at MIPDOC, Cannes and the National Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan.