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9 Days at Raqqa

Name: 9 Days at Raqqa
Director: Xavier de Lauzanne
Released: 2020
Duration: 88 min

Representation Score

6.0/10

Fair

2020

Director

Xavier de Lauzanne

Runtime

88 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

9 Days at Raqqa excels by centering female leadership and authentic Middle Eastern identities. By focusing on Leila Mustapha’s role as a mayor and engineer, the film avoids the common cliché of passive female roles in war zones, instead highlighting professional ability to act and democratic aspirations. The documentary provides deep cultural immersion through its focus on the Kurdish and Syrian populations. It avoids Western-centric perspectives by allowing real-life subjects to drive the narrative, offering a culturally specific look at life in a post-conflict zone. However, the film's narrow focus on immediate survival and geopolitical reconstruction limits its multi-layered breadth. The lack of explicit LGBTQ+ narratives and disability representation prevents a higher overall diversity score.

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Category Breakdown

Does 9 Days at Raqqa have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on civilian survival under Islamic State occupation. There is no explicit representation of LGBTQ+ characters or narratives within the nine-day window.

How does 9 Days at Raqqa portray gender?

Excellent

Leila Mustapha, a Kurdish-Syrian engineer and mayor, serves as the central agent of reconstruction. Her leadership disrupts traditional gender hierarchies in a hyper-patriarchal conflict zone.

How racially and ethnically diverse is 9 Days at Raqqa?

Excellent

The documentary provides authentic ethnic representation by centering Kurdish and Syrian populations. It avoids Western-centric casting by utilizing real-life subjects as the primary drivers.

How does 9 Days at Raqqa represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative critiques radicalized religious institutions and the corruption of authority. It frames democratic reconstruction as a counter-narrative to extremist frameworks.

Does 9 Days at Raqqa include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no significant evidence regarding the portrayal of specific disabilities. The film's scope remains focused on geopolitical and gender-based ability to act.

Present on Screen

Strong centering of female leadership through Leila Mustapha.
Authentic ethnic representation using real-life Kurdish and Syrian subjects.
Avoids Western-centric casting clichés by focusing on local voices.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or character narratives.
Limited focus on disability representation within the documentary's scope.

Official Synopsis

Leila Mustapha is Kurdish and Syrian. Her battle was Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State with 300,000 inhabitants, reduced to a field of ruin after the war. An engineer by training, mayor at just 30, immersed in a world of men, her mission is to rebuild her city, to reconcile, and to establish democracy there. An extraordinary mission. A French writer crosses Iraq and Syria to meet her. In this still dangerous city, she has 9 days to live with Leila and tell her story in a book.

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