Synopsis
'The Return: Life After ISIS' tells the story of a group of Western women, such as Shamima Begum (UK) and Hoda Muthana (US), who devoted their adolescence to ISIS, but now, after the fall of ISIS, They want a chance to return to their home countries.
Alba Sotorra is the director of this documentary and Júlia Berenguer, Xavi Carrasco and Alejandra Céspedes write the screenplay.
Nominated for the Goya Awards, the feature has been praised by critics. Variety says that: "Sotorra?s film is put together with remarkable poise and intelligence, considering the fraught territory it traverses".
The digital medium Screendaily corroborates these words by stating that it is "a work by women, about women, and is also for women and those predisposed to be open to their stories".
For its part, The Guardian also exalts the film and highlights that it is "this is a film that makes you interrogate yourself more than any other I can remember. Are you more shocked by the fact that it is women who were radicalised? Does remorse seem lacking only because we expect women to be more apologetic in all things, from the failure to wash school sports kits in time to incitement to murder in the name of religion? Is it wrong, in some sense, to expect more of women?
Where to watch The Return: Life After ISIS
All the optionsAvailable now in the UK:
Availability checked on 8 November 2026.
The essentials
- Runtime
- 90 min1 hour and 30 minutes
- How long is The Return: Life After ISIS?
- 1 hour and 30 minutes (90 minutes).
- When was The Return: Life After ISIS released in the UK?
- It was released in the UK on 14 June 2021.
- Who directed The Return: Life After ISIS?
- Alba Sotorra.
- Where can I watch The Return: Life After ISIS?
- In the UK it is available with a channel on Now.
Cast
Full cast (6)- Director
- Alba Sotorra
- Writers
- Alba Sotorra
- Producers
- Poppy Dixon, Alba Sotorra, Carles Torras
- Cinematography
- Gris Jordana
Awards
All the awards- Goya Awards 2022 1 nomination
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