On Sunday, December 16th, at 7pm at the Emerson Center, The Bozeman Doc Series presents the Montana premiere of the award-winning new documentary On Her Shoulders. The screening is being co-presented by The Traveling School, Visions Service Adventures and Bridgercare, and will be preceded at 6:30pm by a reception featuring food, drink and information about the sponsoring organizations in the Emerson lobby.

Twenty-three-year-old Nobel Peace Prize-winner Nadia Murad’s life is a dizzying array of exhausting undertakings—from giving testimony before the U.N. to visiting refugee camps to soul-bearing media interviews and one-on-one meetings with top government officials. With deep compassion and a formal precision and elegance that matches Nadia’s calm and steely demeanor, filmmaker Alexandria Bombach follows this strong-willed young woman, who survived the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis in Northern Iraq and escaped the hands of ISIS to become a relentless beacon of hope for her people, even when at times she longs to lay aside this monumental burden and simply have an ordinary life.

On Her Shoulders world premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary Competition. The film has gone on to screen at major festivals around the world, winning several awards and garnering widespread critical acclaim.

“An essential portrait of the strength required to speak up.” Indiewire

“Director Alexandria Bombach handles this material with enormous sensitivity and artistry.” Pure Nonfiction

“On Her Shoulders is an intimate, empathetic documentary, made with discretion and power.” Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

“Alexandria Bombach’s direction and editing are exceptional; she captures images that are both subtle and formidable.” The New York Times

Doors open at 6pm. Tickets are available at the door or before the show at Cactus Records and Movie Lovers. Tickets are also available online at www.bozemandocseries.org, where you can also buy Season Passes and 7-film punch cards, learn more about the series, and view trailers for upcoming films. The series will continue every other Sunday through Christmas. Starting January 10th, the series will move to every other Thursday through April.

The mission of The Traveling School is to empower young women academically, physically, and culturally through an experiential overseas high school semester. The Traveling School offers teenage girls ages 15-18 the opportunity to explore the world and learn about themselves through academic, physical, and cultural challenges. Sixteen motivated young women and four inspiring teachers travel to a unique region of the globe for 15 weeks. Students earn full credit, immerse in new cultures, develop outdoor skills, and build confidence during this transformational semester.

Visions Service Adventures summer programs are grounded in a philosophy that has been changing the lives of teenagers for 30 years. These exceptional experiences are built on the pillars of meaningful service, full cultural immersion and adventurous exploration. Our student volunteers work on Montana Indian reservations and with indigenous Athabascan communities in Alaska, as well as abroad in South and Central America, the Caribbean and Cambodia. Programs are 12 days to four weeks long, and some sites include Spanish language immersion.

Bridgercare is one of the largest non-profit family planning clinics in Montana. The clinic’s mission is to provide excellent, affordable reproductive and sexual healthcare and education in a safe, supportive, empowering atmosphere.