The War to be Her
TFI Suppport
Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund 2015 AOL Charitable Foundation Award
Logline
In the Taliban controlled area of Waziristan, sports are decried as un-Islamic and girls rarely leave their homes. But she did, by pretending to be a boy. She’s now a world-renowned athlete and a flashpoint in her country’s battle over feminine identity. Her name is Maria Toorpakai Wazir, the young woman known as Genghis Khan. This film chronicles Maria and her family on the run from the Taliban.
Erin Heidenreich
Director
Erin Heidenreich directs, writes, and produces award-winning documentaries, short films and branded content. Her voice has been shaped by the cultures she has immersed herself in across the globe. Erin is currently directing her first feature length documentaries, THE WAR TO BE HER set in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and SONS OF CONGO documenting men’s stories in "the rape capital of the world". Erin has produced four documentaries: THE OTHER SHORE (SXSW 2014) about 61 year old Diana Nyad’s attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida, MISSION CONGO (TIFF 2014) uncovering televangelist Pat Robertson’s diamond mining operations, LEVITATED MASS (LAFF 2014) chronicling Michael Heizer’s controversial art piece, and MADE IN INDIA (HOT DOCS 2010) illustrating the trend of outsourcing surrogates.
Cassandra Sanford-Rosenthal
Producer
Cassandra Sanford-Rosenthal created BLACKACRE Entertainment, where they produced SHADOWS AND LIES (TIFF 2010) starring James Franco and Julianne Nicholson. Blackacre is currently in several stages of production on various projects including a co-production with Amblin Entertainment for an episodic series on FX. Cassandra is also involved with a handful of foundations dealing with education, women's rights, and human trafficking.