Following its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, National Geographic Documentary Films announced today the world television premiere of HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS, a new feature documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and best-selling author Sebastian Junger and his Emmy-winning filmmaking partner, Nick Quested.
Premiering globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages starting Sunday, June 11, at 9/8c, Hell on Earth chronicles Syria's descent into the unbridled chaos that allowed the rise of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS, in Iraq and Syria. Pulling from nearly 1,000 hours of stunningly visceral footage, Junger and Quested, who previously collaborated on a trio of films about war ("Restrepo," "The Last Patrol" and "Korengal"), capture the Syrian war's harrowing carnage, political and social consequences and, most importantly, its human toll, while painting an alarming picture of the west's role in the creation of ISIS.
"Sebastian and Nick acquired extraordinary access to all sides of this incredibly complex crisis," said Tim Pastore, president of original programming and production for National Geographic. "The footage speaks for itself, offering a rarely seen look inside civil war from every angle."
"This is a difficult film to watch," admits Quested. "I want to challenge people to sit through it. This is what's happening. It's a window into the suffering of millions of people and the reasoning behind it. I want to challenge viewers not to look away, in exchange for gaining a greater understanding about the world."
Through exclusive interviews with activists, journalists, diplomats, human rights workers, politicians and ordinary citizens, as well as historical archival footage, Hell on Earth captures a unique portrait of life in war-torn Syria, from that of a family living under ISIS control that finally fled to Turkey, to Kurdish fighters in Sinjar and Shia militias in Iraq and even to al-Qaida-affiliated fighters in and around Aleppo and Raqqa. Junger and Quested meticulously identify the forces that led to the deadly conflict in Syria and facilitated the rise of the radical Islamists who are now organizing and inspiring terrorist operations around the world.
The film recently had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, followed by screenings at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto. Following a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, May 19, Hell on Earth (trailer download) will air globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages starting Sunday, June 11, at 9/8c. For more information, visit: natgeotvpressroom.com.
Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS is produced by Goldcrest Films in association with National Geographic Documentary Films. Producers for Goldcrest Films are Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested. For National Geographic, the executive producer is Matt Renner and Tim Pastore is president of original programming and production.
About Sebastian Junger: Sebastian Junger is the New York Times No. 1 best-selling author of "The Perfect Storm," "Fire," "A Death in Belmont," "War" and "Tribe." As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a special correspondent at
ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award. Junger is also a documentary filmmaker whose debut film, "Restrepo," a feature-length documentary co-directed with Tim Hetherington, was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.
About Nick Quested: Nick Quested is executive director and owner of Goldcrest Films, where he has built one of the world's premiere documentary brands and won two Emmys for his work. Quested has produced over 35 films, including Sebastian Junger's "The Last Patrol," "Korengal," the PGA- and two-time Emmy-nominated "Which Way Is the Front Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington" and the Oscar(R)-nominated "Restrepo." Quested is also an award-winning music video director who has worked with such artists as Dr. Dre, Nas, Puffy, Sting, Master P, Cash Money and Trick Daddy.
About National Geographic Documentary Films: National Geographic Documentary Films is committed to bringing the world premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers in the world. National Geographic Documentary Films is a division of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 129 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers ... and reaching over 730 million people around the world in 171 countries and 45 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
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