The Matchmaker (2022)

Tooba Gondal is one of the most infamous British jihadists. When she was only 20 years old, she left London to join the Islamic State and gained popularity worldwide as the ISIS matchmaker after allegedly recruiting a dozen Western women to marry ISIS fighters. Between 2014 and 2017, she actively engaged in propaganda on social networks. As soon as Isis started losing on the ground, she disappeared from the internet. Director Benedetta Argentieri found her two years later in a camp in Syria. ISIS lost the war, and she was held captive by the Kurds. Ms. Gondal agreed to an exclusive interview. When she introduces herself, Tooba hints at the stereotypical passive woman who is in love with the wrong man and holds no responsibility for her actions. Her story version plays with the sexist view of women in the jihad, seen as accessories and not as active participants. Is she the friendly, intelligent, and submissive girl we see on camera? Or is she a violent extremist? The interview offers an interesting reflection on the Islamic holy war seen from the point of view of the women who are part of the caliphate, fighters, and executioners themselves.