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'City of Ghosts'

U.S. Documentary; 93 minutes.

Heroes emerge in the shadow of the so-called Islamic State, and those heroes get their moment in Matthew Heineman's absorbing documentary "City of Ghosts."

The movie follows the men behind the citizen-journalism group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, which chronicles the oppression inflicted on the Syrian city of Raqqa by the group known as ISIS. Their mission is to present a counter-narrative to ISIS' slickly produced propaganda, which argues that the people of Raqqa love their new rulers — in spite of the regular executions and beheadings.

These journalists work anonymously, for the simple reason that getting caught will get them killed — both those still in Raqqa and those who have escaped to Turkey and Germany, where some have been assassinated by ISIS followers abroad. The journalists inside Raqqa shoot the footage, and download it to their exiled colleagues, who then post it online for the world to see. (The movie shows many examples of mainstream news outlets, such as CNN, using RBSS's footage.)

Heineman, who followed Mexican vigilantes fighting the drug lords in "Cartel Land," once again risks life and limb to tell a compelling story. He gets interviews in Syria, where the threat from ISIS is ever-present. He also profiles the exiled RBSS journalists, who not only fear retribution from ISIS but a growing white nationalist movement in Germany that sees Syrian refugees not as victims but as a menace.

As with "Cartel Land," Heineman lets his subjects carry the story in "City of Ghosts," as they recount friends and family who have been killed by ISIS — and how that loss spurs them to continue with their vital, dangerous work.

– Sean P. Means —

Also showing:

"City of Ghosts" screens again at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, at the following time and venue:

• Saturday, Jan. 28, 8:30 a.m., Egyptian Theatre, Park City.