Malala Yousafzai already has a Nobel Peace Prize under her belt. Next up on her list of things most teenagers can't say they have? A feature-length documentary.
The 18-year-old Pakistani activist who famously survived an attack by the Taliban is the subject of He Named Me Malala, a new film about her life and work. Take a look at the trailer:
The film bills itself as an "intimate portrait" of Malala, and judging from the trailer I'd say that sounds about right. Not only do we see Malala shaking hands with celebrities and addressing huge crowds as part of her advocacy work, but we watch her play cards with her family and tease her two younger brothers—the kinds of small, behind-the-scenes moments TV news crews rarely cover.
(In one of the trailer's more adorable moments, Malala is asked to Google someone she has a crush on—and up pop photos of Roger Federer. As it turns out, not even Nobel laureates are immune to the allure of the Swiss tennis legend.)
The film was directed by Davis Guggenheim, best know for his Oscar-winning climate change doc, An Inconvenient Truth. You might also remember him from my list of 5 must-watch documentaries about education, which is appropriate—who better to direct a doc about a world-famous education advocate than the man behind Waiting For "Superman," a film about the sorry state of education in America?
Although the film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month, it isn't scheduled to hit theaters until October 9. With that in mind, here are five articles about Malala to tide you over in the meantime:
1) 15 times that Malala nailed it
Looking for a crash course as to why Malala is awesome? Look no further.
2) Malala’s #BooksNotBullets subtracts wars, adds schools
Read all about Malala's cleverly hashtagged campaign to convince world governments to spend more on education, and less on weapons. Not-so-fun fact: The world burns through enough money on military spending in eight days to fund universal, free education for every child.
3) Malala makes history as the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Here's a refresher on Malala's historic Nobel Prize win. Bet the Taliban didn't see that coming.
4) Malala gets real on education in Nobel Peace Prize speech
Go here to watch or read Malala's acceptance speech in its entirety. Inspiring stuff from start to finish.
5) Jon Stewart and Malala meet again
Malala was a guest of Jon Stewart's not once, but twice. The second time around, she appeared the night after the tragic and infuriating Charleston church shooting. In a two-part interview, she and Jon Stewart processed the tragedy before discussing her upcoming documentary.
All told, He Named Me Malala promises to give audiences a never-before-seen look at the world's youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner. Visit the official website to find out when it's coming to a theater near you.