THE MATCHMAKER
2022/ Documentary/ 90 minutes/ Italy
Dir. Benedetta Argentieri
CoProducer: Elizabeth Pauker
Tooba Gondal is one of the most infamous British jihadists. When she was only 20 years old she left London to join the Islamic State and gained popularity worldwide as "the ISIS matchmaker" after she recruited a dozen of Western woman to marry ISIS fighters. Between 2014 and 2017, she actively engaged in propaganda on social networks. After disappearing for two years, Tooba was filmed in 2019 by director and freelance reporter Benedetta Argentieri, in Raqqa, Syria, only to vanish again a few days later. In an exclusive interview, Argentieri investigates the truth behind Tooba's stories and investigates the fascination exercised by ISIS on the minds of young Westerners, especially women.
“Dilligent, focused and thought-provoking portrait” - Screen Daily
Premiere: Venice Film Festival 2022
Top 10 films of 2022, Rolling Stone Italia
Winner: Phoenix Award, Cologne Film Festival 2022
Nominee: Best Documentary, Stockholm International Film Festival 2022
Nominee: Best Documentary, David di Donatello 2023