Malala Yousafzai is an international activist, bestselling author and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner. Now she has a new title on her resume: movie star.
“He Named Me Malala,” a documentary film that opens nationwide Friday, traces the arc of Malala’s life -- from her childhood in Pakistan, to the Taliban’s assassination attempt when she was 15 years old and her courageous stand for girls’ education worldwide despite continued death threats.
“He Named Me Malala,” a documentary film that opens nationwide Friday, traces the arc of Malala’s life -- from her childhood in Pakistan, to the Taliban’s assassination attempt when she was 15 years old and her courageous stand for girls’ education worldwide despite continued death threats.
Throughout the film, Malala is frequently shown bickering with her younger brothers. She describes the little one, 9-year year-old Atal, as “a really good boy,” but of 14-year-old Khushal, she says, he is “the laziest one.” And when Khushal describes his older sister as “the naughtiest girl in the world,” she promptly beats him at arm wrestling. In one scene, Malala wonders out loud whether the students at her high school like her. She says that even though she has met rock stars and celebrities -- even England's Queen Elizabeth -- she still has to do homework, just like every student.
“To be honest I don’t feel comfortable in my new school. My skirt is longer than most of the girls and then my life is quite different than their life,” she said, adding that most of her peers have already had boyfriends. “It’s quite difficult to tell girls who really I am.”