Artist Talk: Benedetta Argentieri

The wars and the struggles for democracy and gender equality in the Islamic world of the Middle East is a recurring theme in Benedetta Argentieri’s work. As a trained journalist she first worked for Italy’s leading daily newspaper Corriere della Sera. In 2013 she was involved in the documentary CAPULCU – VOICES OF GEZI about the Gezi Park protests in Turkey. In 2014 she entered an active warzone for the first time as a filmmaker. In OUR WAR Argentieri and her co-authors they tell the stories of international fighters that have joined the Kurdish People's Defense units in their fight against ISIS. With I AM THE REVOLUTION (2018) and BLOOMING IN THE DESERT (2021) Argentieri portrays three women each that fight for democracy, freedom and gender equality in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. For her latest film THE MATCHMAKER she switches perspectives to interview a young British woman who allegedly recruited other women for ISIS.