“People say ‘don’t give terrorists air time’, but what they should say is ‘understand these people’.
A Bafta-winning film-maker has defended his decision to make a documentary using video footage taken by jihadist terrorists, saying the work humanises but does not glamorise.
Before being allowed access to the footage, Hacker said, he had to convince Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry that he could be trusted with the material.
They also showed “Muslim victims and Muslims fighting the terrorists, which was a counterbalance to the western-centric view”, Hacker said.