Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.
City of Ghosts documents the remarkable story of RBSS citizen journalists with an urgent, immersive intimacy rarely seen in documentary filmmaking. The narrative arc is genuinely compelling—courageous individuals risking their lives and identities to expose ISIS atrocities from within. The novelty is high: the film occupies a singular space between frontline journalism and personal portrait, giving unprecedented access to anonymous activists under existential threat. Cinematography is competent and appropriately raw, serving the subject without elevated artistry. The ending is sobering but somewhat inconclusive by necessity, reflecting the ongoing nature of the conflict. Acting is not applicable in a traditional sense, but the subjects' on-camera presence and emotional authenticity register strongly.