Rent this film for $4.99

"All we wanted was to do our job in an honest way." —Zineb El Rhazoui

Zineb El Rhazoui came to prominence during the Arab Spring in Morocco. The outspoken journalist and activist defied gender expectations, spoke at demonstrations, and counseled women by podcast on home abortions. But after the election of an Islamist government, she faced continual harassment and lived with the threat of arrest. It was enough to drive her out of the country, to a new life in Paris, where she found a job she loved. It was collegial, intellectually fulfilling, and challenging. It allowed her to be herself.

The job was at Charlie Hebdo. 

Shot between 2011 and 2016, NOTHING IS FORGIVEN intimately chronicles El Rhazoui’s life from her activist days in Morocco to the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, in which 12 people—most of them her colleagues—were killed. Overnight, El Rhazoui became the most heavily protected woman in France, sleeping in a different hotel room every night, and going nowhere without a phalanx of police officers surrounding her.

Having left Morocco because of threats from Islamists, El Rhazoui finds herself fighting them once more. Already plagued by survivor’s guilt, she relives the trauma of Charlie Hebdo, as France is hit by attacks in Paris and Nice.

Throughout it all, El Rhazoui refuses to be quiet, continuing to write, and giving interviews in which she excoriates her opponents. While she is uncompromising in her condemnation of Islamist violence, she also is critical of the West’s approach to fighting it, saying that this is a war of ideas, and that bombs will not win it.  

"Highly recommended. This film would be a beneficial resource in library collections supporting studies in activism, gender studies, journalism, religious studies, terrorism, and international affairs."—Educational Media Reviews Online 

"Whether or not Rhazoui will remain at Charlie Hebdo is still a question at film's end, but it's clear she will continue to speak against the roots and results of terrorism. Recommended!" —Video Librarian

"Excellent! The creators of this film are real heroes." —Medium