Alexandria Bombach is an award-winning filmmaker from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She founded her production company, Red Reel, in 2009. Bombach directed and produced the Emmy Award-winning series “Moveshake.” Her other credits include “Frame by Frame,” “23 Feet,” and the New York Times Op-Doc “Afghanistan By Choice.”

“On Her Shoulders” will premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 20.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

AB: The film is about Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old survivor of the Yazidi Genocide in Northern Iraq in 2014. Nadia and thousands of other Yazidi women were forced into sexual slavery after ISIS militants murdered thousands of people. After Nadia escaped, she testified at the U.N. Security Council about this, which launched her into becoming the face of the Yazidis. There is an intimate understanding [in the film] of the toll this work takes on Nadia, and what it takes to get the world to listen to a voiceless minority.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

AB: Nadia’s testimony at the U.N. Security Council in 2015 stopped me in my tracks. Her story was incredibly powerful, and I remember thinking maybe this was just what the Yazidis needed to get the world to act.

By the time I started following Nadia, it was eight months after her testimony at the U.N. Security Council, and she hadn’t stopped telling her story.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

AB: People may go into this film thinking it’s a biopic of Nadia, but leave feeling it’s about us. There is a numbness in the world right now — an apathy that has met the refugee crisis head-on. Following Nadia through her experience of pleading with the world to care about this vulnerable minority exposes this indifference in a way that is distinct and raw. I’m hoping to add more gray to what is often assumed to be black and white.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

AB: This was the hardest film I’ve ever made, and hands down the most challenging experience of my life. From navigating the array of deep complexities surrounding the Yazidi genocide, to the emotional toll of living with heartbreaking and often traumatizing footage every day, to the overwhelming responsibility of telling [Nadia’s story] — the challenges never ended, and still haven’t.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

AB: The film was entirely funded by RYOT films. The film’s producer, Hayley Pappas of RYOT, approached me to direct and shoot a short about Nadia in 2016. Once I met Nadia and saw we were going to be the only documentary crew with access, I pushed, prodded and persuaded the producers until it became a feature. Thankfully, RYOT came onboard and took on the full burden of financing the film.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Sundance?

AB: It’s an absolute honor and the best place to launch this film. I couldn’t be more thankful to have this door opened and to feel this level of support.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

AB: The best bit of advice I got in the last year was “the easiest thing in the world is to not make a film.” Sometimes the obstacles in between you and making a film seem utterly ridiculous and can be maddening. Knowing this is just a part of the process calms me immensely. No matter what, it’s never going to be easy.

The worst advice I’ve ever received as a director was to be quiet. I used to hold my tongue when the bigwigs were in the room, but then I saw important relationships mishandled, and the ball dropped on pressing deadlines, and I started to chime in. I’m starting to live by Georgia O’Keeffe’s words, “I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain, and I am quite free.”

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

AB: Don’t wait for permission to do this work. Hire more women. Get a lawyer upfront. Diversify your mentors, so you can weigh many viewpoints while trusting your gut.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

AB: Sarah Polley’s “Stories We Tell” came during a significant time in my filmmaking life — right before my first feature. I felt like someone was showing me a whole new world of what documentaries could be. I left that theater immensely excited to get to work.

W&H: Hollywood is in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women and some men in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences being assaulted and harassed. What do you think of the recently announced anti-sexual harassment Commission made up of industry leaders? Do you believe that it will help make systemic change? What do you think needs to be done to address this issue?

AB: It feels like change is happening quickly and at the same time bit-by-bit. This transformation has me feeling both shaken and empowered, and I know many women feel just as raw as I do about it.

All of a sudden these stories matter — we matter — and as infuriating as it is that we lived as we did under a cloud of indifference for so long, I’m so thankful for this change now.

The commission could be immensely valuable, and I hope it has a significant impact. As it is with most things, it’s going to take a variety of solutions to address these problems, and I’m eager to do my part.