He Named Me Malala (PG), directed by Davis Guggenheim

5/5

THE youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai made the headlines when at just 15 she was shot by the Taliban on a school bus for actively campaigning for girls’ education in Pakistan.

Instead of silencing her, it spurred her on to continue her fight and to become one of the most vocal and renowned educational campaigners in the world.

It’s a harrowing yet awe-inspiring story and Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim’s documentary paints an intimate and empowering portrait of the teenage girl which is surprisingly funny and uplifting, while deeply moving.

Guggenheim spent 18 months with Malala and her family at their home in Birmingham and also in Nigeria, Kenya, Abu Dhabi and Jordan.

Through poignant interviews with them and the use of beautiful hand-drawn animation to illustrate the past, a fascinating insight into what shaped Malala into a remarkable young woman emerges.

But the most striking and endearing moments in the film are those of her at home as a normal teenage girl — teasing her two younger brothers mercilessly, showing her father Ziauddin how to Tweet and giggling over online pictures of Roger Federer and Brad Pitt as she admires their great hair.

You can’t help but wonder at a lost childhood and a father who encouraged his daughter to raise her head above the parapet by writing an anonymous daily blog depicting life under the Taliban in the Swat Valley for the BBC when she was 11.

The film explores the incredible influence Ziauddin has had on Malala, being a vocal activist and campaigner himself. He voices his guilt at what has happened to his daughter who will be killed by the Taliban the moment she sets foot in Pakistan again, asserting that the one who pulled the trigger on Malala wasn’t a person but an ideology.

The documentary also pays tribute to the incredible NHS medical staff in Birmingham who worked relentlessly to help Malala in her recovery.

Yet it is Malala’s unwavering fortitude, resilience, her forgiving nature and her endless passion to fight for every girl’s right to an education that is an inspiration.

A truly uplifting and inspirational film which should be shown in every school.