Documentary based on political prisoner's life unveils trauma of China's Uyghur camps

Virginia [US], August 03 : A documentary film titled 'Behind The Mask' based on the life of a Uyghur camp survivor was screened at the Uyghur Center Virginia on Friday, a statement by the Uyghur American Association (UAA) reported.
The documentary talks about the life experiences of a Uyghur internment camp survivor, Abduweli Ayup, who contacts a former guard from the camp days and has to deal with the effects that this incident could have on his children as they had witnessed everything. The movie screening continued with a public discussion and a question and answer session.
In a post on 'X', the UAA mentioned that "Join us for the screening of the documentary "Behind the Mask," featuring the story of Uyghur scholar and former political prisoner Abduweli Ayup, followed by a Q&A discussion. Looking forward to seeing you there!
The 31-minute-long piece directed and written by Havard Bustnes was released in 2023 and the movie is a walkthrough of the Ayup's life after enduring immense torture at an internment camp for Uyghurs in China. This documentary follows Ayup's journey to Germany, where he meets a former internment camp prison guard who was involved in torturing him during his camp days. However, just before departure, Ayup's daughter suffers a panic attack.
Now facing a profound dilemma, Ayup has to decide whether to stay with the family or to continue on his mission of shedding light on the Uyghur genocide or to leave the past behind and avoid traumatic memories for himself and his family of their time in China.
The movie has witnessed features in TIFF - Tromso International Film Festival, Minimalen Short Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival this year.