He Named Me Malala Movie Review – Stand #WithMalala
Knowing that many of our readers are parents of young girls (and boys) and being a believing in the power of education myself, I was thrilled when The National Geographic Channel asked me to review the movie He Named Me Malala.
The Story
Malala Yousafzai, named for a heroine of the second Anglo-Afghan war, was a normal teenage girl growing up in the Pakistan Swat Valley. Her parents, especially her father were strong advocates of education of both boys and girls. When the Taliban declared that no girl of any age could attend school, Malala and her father Zia became outspoken champions of girls education. Because of this, while riding home in a school bus; The Taliban shot Malala in the head. She survived and has become a worldwide advocate of girls’ education and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
My Review
He Named Me Malala is a brief glimpse into Malala’s life both before and after she was shot. The movie is beautifully filmed and weaves animation into live shots to depict some of the scenes from her life in the Swat Valley. It was amazing to see how normal her life is considering her fame and all that has happened to her. She discusses what it is like in her new school (in Britain) and the everyday struggles with grades.
Of course her life isn’t just about school and homework, Malala is a worldwide advocate for the $60 million girls who do not have an education. She is shown touring the world talking to girls about school, talking to world leaders about their responsibility to education. She doesn’t hold back her feelings! It is deeply inspiring to watch.
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” …Malala
I highly recommend this movie. It would be a great movie to watch with younger teenagers on up to discuss how important education is and to stand up for what you believe in. The National Geographic Channel will air He Named Me Malala on Monday, February 29th at 8PM ET/PT. It will also air globally in 171 countries and 45 languages within the week. It will be commercial free. Set your DVRs!
Here is a small clip of the movie:
You can read more about Malala, the movie and the cause by going to the henamedmemalalamovie.com website. If you are a teacher or home-school, check out Nat Geo’s education site for the movie. Just click here to get tools and resources.
In honor of this inspiring film and to promote education for girls, The National Geographic Channel has launched a Facebook and Twitter promotion to encourage users to stand #withMalala. Stop by their Facebook page and learn how you can transform your profile photo in support of the cause. For every person who participates $1.00 will be donated to the Malala fund. Also for every person who tweets using hashtag #withMalala through March 10th, $1.00 will be donated up to $50,000.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for 20th Century Fox. I received information to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.