Former soldiers film British volunteers Fighting ISIS for C4 Doc

Channel 4 is to broadcast an extraordinary film, shot entirely by three former military officers which follows British men who have volunteered to fight Islamic State militants in Syria - providing unprecedented insight into the dangerous and brutal reality of ‘amateur’ fighting on the IS frontline. The British volunteers: Jac - a 22 year-old former IT worker from Bournemouth, Harry - a 28 year-old former currency trader from Battersea and Jim - a 40 year-old former soldier and peace activist from Stoke on Trent are members of a band of volunteers known as the ‘Lions of Rojava’ who are supporting Kurdish forces in Syria. They spent several months earlier this year fighting in the north eastern part of Syria – building up to a major operation, captured in this film, to clear IS out as far the Abdul ‘Aziz mountain range.

Fighting Isis documents their training as they work towards regaining control of IS’s headquarters in the north east. From close quarters, the filmmakers capture the four-day-long operation which includes a bloody two-day battle to take back a village, the discovery of a major IS bomb factory and abandoned IS barracks before culminating in their victorious arrival at the bombed-out IS HQ.

Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Siobhan Sinnerton and Deputy Head of Documentaries Amy Flanagan commissioned Amos Pictures (The Paedophile Hunter, From Russia With Cash) to make the 1 x 60 one-off documentary. Sinnerton says: “The fight against ISIS is one of the most important stories of our time, but also one that is incredibly hard to tell because of the difficulties of access. We feel that this film gives an extremely rare first-hand account of what it’s like to be in close combat with ISIS, and we’re very grateful that the film-makers chose to come to Channel 4 with such extraordinary footage.”

Filmed entirely by ex-soldiers Mauricio Gris, George Tyldesley and Michael McEvoy, ex-officers, the film follows the volunteers from their training for this operation in sight of a village flying an Islamic State flag and under constant threat of sniper fire through to their arrival at the IS HQ.

An epic war documentary for an age in which ISIS will dominate our headlines for years to come, Fighting Isis, reveals the untold story of the growing number of ordinary Brits who have chosen to risk their lives in combat against the Islamic State as unpaid volunteers. Using extraordinary footage and interviews shot by Mauricio Gris and George Tyldesley, combined with the story-telling skills of BAFTA-winning editor Mark Towns and executive producer Dan Reed, AMOS Pictures’ latest documentary reveals how young Englishmen - drawn to Syria by their hatred of ISIS and the thrill of combat - experience a greater sense of purpose and belonging when they’re fighting shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of the YPG Kurdish militia than they do at home in England.

Since filmmakers Mauricio, George and Mike returned from Syria, two of the three volunteers they filmed have already gone back to rejoin the fight after a short stint back home. And seven of the Kurds in their unit have been killed in battle.