---
title: "He Named Me Malala"
year: 2015
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/he-named-me-malala"
fi1m_id: "he-named-me-malala"
imdb_id: "tt3065132"
tmdb_id: 338928
wikidata_id: "Q19878674"
fi1m_score: 60
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 18
published: "2026-10-02T22:54:11.630938+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-02T22:54:16.311069+00:00"
region: "UA"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# He Named Me Malala (2015)

Directed by Davis Guggenheim · 1h 27m · Documentary

## Identity

He Named Me Malala

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/he-named-me-malala
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** he-named-me-malala
- **IMDb ID:** tt3065132
- **TMDB ID:** 338928
- **Wikidata ID:** Q19878674
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3065132/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/338928, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19878674

**Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 62 from 18 reviews

*In a sentence:* A remarkable girl, a father who stammers, two brothers who roll their eyes, and a string section that never lets up

> Davis Guggenheim’s film about Malala Yousafzai is at its best in the family kitchen, where she is a teenager with brothers and homework. Everywhere else it polishes her into a monument and declines to ask the one hard question its own title raises.

## Synopsis

Malala Yousafzai is a teenager living in a new country with her father Ziauddin Yousafzai, her mother Toor Pekai Yousafzai and her brothers Khushal Yousafzai and Atal Yousafzai. In October 2012, in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head for speaking up about girls’ education. Davis Guggenheim’s documentary opens with the Afghan folk tale of Malalai of Maiwand, the girl her father named her after, told in hand-drawn animation, then settles into the family’s new house: homework, teasing from her brothers, a mother who misses home. Between these scenes the film returns to Swat, to Ziauddin’s school and to the radio broadcasts that announced the Taliban’s arrival, and follows Malala as she travels to speak for girls kept out of school.

## Review

Davis Guggenheim, who made [*An Inconvenient Truth*](https://film.one/film/an-inconvenient-truth) (2006) and *Waiting for “Superman”* (2010), spends 87 minutes with Malala Yousafzai and her family in their new home, a couple of years after a Taliban gunman shot her on her school bus in the Swat Valley. He has made two films and put them in the same box. One is a close, affectionate record of a teenager at home with a father who adores her and two brothers who do not. The other is a public monument, and the monument keeps getting in the way.

The home film is good. Khushal and Atal tell the camera that their sister is bossy and that she hits them, and she does not deny it. Malala worries about her grades, which are not what they were in Pakistan, and admits she cannot talk to boys. Toor Pekai, her mother, speaks little, looks out of the window a great deal and is plainly not where she wants to be. Guggenheim films all of this quietly, from close by, and the family seems to forget him.

Ziauddin is the film’s real subject, and the best thing in it. He is a teacher who ran a school in Swat, a man with a stammer who built his life around the spoken word, and the title is his doing: he named his daughter after Malalai of Maiwand, a girl who rallied an army and was killed for it. We were moved more than once, and each time it was by him, watching his daughter speak in a hall he could never have stood up in, his mouth moving slightly with hers. The question underneath, whether a father has the right to name a child for a martyr and then let her blog against the Taliban, is put to Malala exactly once. Her answer is good. The film should have pressed, and does not.

The animation is the film’s chief device and a mixed one. Swat, the school, the Malalai legend and the Taliban’s arrival are all drawn by hand in soft colour, and for the childhood scenes it works; there is no footage of a Swat that no longer exists, and the drawings do the remembering. The trouble comes when the same style has to carry the threat. The Taliban are a voice on the radio and some shadows on a hillside, and the shooting itself is rendered in the same pastel wash as the valley. We understood why the family might want it that way. We also noticed that the one event everything else depends on is the one the film looks at least directly.

Greg Finton’s cut moves between the new house, archive of Malala’s speeches, the animation and her trips abroad to classrooms and refugee camps, and the order is hard to follow. The attack is approached three or four times and backed away from, so that a viewer who did not already know the story would struggle to put it in sequence. Thomas Newman’s score sits under almost every scene, piano and strings, rising whenever a face is about to do something. By the last twenty minutes we were irritated by it, because the faces were doing the work on their own and the music kept interrupting to tell us so.

What the film leaves out is politics. Who the Taliban were in Swat and how they came to run it, what Pakistan made of Malala before and after the shooting, why a good many people there think ill of her and her father: each of these gets a sentence or none. Guggenheim’s earlier films were arguments, and *An Inconvenient Truth* was a lecture that knew it. This one wants to be intimate and inspiring at the same time, and whenever the two collide it chooses inspiring, which means the hard material goes quiet.

It is a decent film for the right audience, and the right audience is a family with a teenager in it. Watch it with one. They will see a girl their own age who is funny and vain about her grades and frightened of boys, and who did a brave thing anyway, and the brothers will make them laugh. Then go and read something about Swat, because the film is not going to tell you.

*Fi1m score 60, published 2 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics agree that Malala Yousafzai’s story is stronger than the film built around it, and the reviews lean mixed rather than warm. The praise gathers almost entirely in one place: the intimate footage of Malala at home, teasing her brothers, arguing with her father and behaving like an ordinary teenager rather than a public figure. Several critics also like the hand-drawn animation Guggenheim uses for her childhood in the Swat Valley, finding it the film’s most distinctive visual choice.

The reservations gather just as tightly. Critics repeatedly call the film hagiographic, short on political context and content to settle for uplift instead of examining what Malala’s activism actually involves. The spread is wide: the Los Angeles Times and Empire find it inspiring, while Slant Magazine argues the animation keeps viewers at a distance from the horrors it depicts, and Consequence says the disjointed structure cuts short the moments when Malala speaks for herself.

## Straight answers

**Is He Named Me Malala worth watching?**

*He Named Me Malala* is worth watching for a family with a teenager in it, and we scored it 60. The scenes at home, where Malala frets about her grades and her brothers call her bossy, are warm and specific, and her father Ziauddin is the best thing in it. Elsewhere the film polishes her into a monument, skips the politics of Swat and never asks the hard question its title raises.

**How long is He Named Me Malala, and what is it rated?**

*He Named Me Malala* runs 1h 27m. It is a documentary film.

**Where can I watch He Named Me Malala in Ukraine?**

*He Named Me Malala* is available to rent from Apple TV from ₴3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does He Named Me Malala compare to Persepolis?**

*He Named Me Malala* and [*Persepolis*](https://film.one/film/persepolis) both draw a girl's childhood under theocracy by hand, but *Persepolis* is the better film and the one we recommend first. Satrapi and Paronnaud keep their heroine funny, flawed and awkward, and never make a saint of her, where Guggenheim's documentary treats its subject as a figure to be admired. Choose *He Named Me Malala* for a family evening with a teenager; choose *Persepolis* for the sharper, more honest portrait.

**What should I watch after He Named Me Malala?**

After *He Named Me Malala*, try [*Persepolis*](https://film.one/film/persepolis) (2007, Fi1m 87): A girl grows up under theocracy, drawn by hand, and nobody turns her into a saint. Then [*Wadjda*](https://film.one/film/wadjda) (2012, Fi1m 80): A Saudi schoolgirl wants a bicycle; the film says more about girls and rules than most speeches; and [*For Sama*](https://film.one/film/for-sama) (2019, Fi1m 88): A mother films Aleppo for her daughter; the home footage here is unsparing where Guggenheim’s is gentle.

### Reviews we read (18)

- **Los Angeles Times**, Rebecca Keegan (90/100, inferred): Keegan finds the documentary an inspiring, unusually family-friendly portrait of Malala’s courage and moral conviction. She especially praises the intimate scenes of Malala’s family and the hand-drawn animation that evokes her childhood in the Swat Valley. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-malala-review-20151002-story.html)
- **Empire**, Dan Jolin (85/100, inferred): The review finds the documentary shocking, inspiring and uplifting. It praises both Malala’s tenacity and the touching portrait of her relationship with her father. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/named-malala-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Trevor Johnston (4/5): Johnston finds Malala Yousafzai’s story more extraordinary than its extensive media coverage might suggest. He praises Guggenheim’s portrait of her as both a playful teenager at home and a powerful advocate for social change. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-l1t4qb/he-named-me-malala/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Stephen Farber (75/100, inferred): Farber finds the documentary deft and affecting, despite some disjointed storytelling and an over-emphatic score. He praises Guggenheim’s empathetic interviews with Malala and her family, especially the intimate moments that reveal the costs of their advocacy. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/he-named-me-malala-telluride-820737/)
- **Variety**, Justin Chang (70/100, inferred): Chang recommends the documentary as an affecting portrait, while faulting its slickness and emotional calculation. He praises the intimate family footage but says the film settles for canned uplift rather than probing Malala’s activism more deeply. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/telluride-film-review-he-named-me-malala-1201587008/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The review text is unavailable, so its verdict cannot be established. No praise or complaint can be verified from the blocked page. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/he-named-me-malala-2015)
- **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The page is identifiable as a review, but its text is unavailable here. The critic’s verdict and specific praise or criticism therefore cannot be verified. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/movies/review-he-named-me-malala-on-a-taliban-target-and-nobel-laureate.html)
- **Screen Daily**, Fionnuala Halligan (64/100, inferred): The available page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no praise or complaint to identify. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/he-named-me-malala-review/5092536.article)
- **The Guardian**, Catherine Shoard (60/100, inferred): Shoard finds Malala’s courage inspiring but says the documentary edges into hagiography and lacks political context. She praises the revealing, delicately handled moments of Malala’s ordinary teenage life. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/04/i-am-malala-review-awed-documentary-captures-extraordinary-subject)
- **Time Out**, Cath Clarke (3/5): The review calls the documentary enlightening but somewhat unfinished. It singles out Malala’s story as humbling and awe-inspiring. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/he-named-me-malala)
- **The AV Club**, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (C): The critic finds the documentary an inessential, overly flattering portrait that treats Malala chiefly as an icon. He praises the candid home-and-school moments, which reveal the more complex teenager behind her public image. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/he-named-me-malala-is-a-puff-piece-for-an-icon-who-does-1798185048)
- **IndieWire**, Gary M. Kramer (C-): The critic finds the documentary underwhelming, criticizing its heavy-handed approach and failure to probe Malala’s mission deeply. He praises the candid family scenes and moments when Malala speaks for herself. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/telluride-review-why-he-named-me-malala-is-a-missed-opportunity-58517/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Kenji Fujishima (1.5/4): The critic finds the documentary hagiographic and ultimately misguided. They praise the animation’s visual beauty but argue it distances viewers from the real-life horrors it depicts. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/he-named-me-malala/)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (85/100, inferred): The critic gives a strongly positive verdict, emphasizing Malala’s humility, intelligence and bravery. They also praise Guggenheim’s use of animation to tell her back story. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/he-named-me-malala-2015-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)
- **Paste**, Christine N. Ziemba (6.4/10): Ziemba finds the documentary incomplete, arguing that it presents Malala as a near-untouchable hero rather than a fully rounded person. She praises the playful scenes with Malala’s brothers for offering a rare, humanizing glimpse of her everyday life. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/he-named-me-malala)
- **HeyUGuys**, Lisa Giles-Keddie (35/100, inferred): The critic finds Malala’s story compelling but judges the film’s execution mediocre and overly polished. She praises the family moments, especially the candid contributions from Malala’s younger brother. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/he-named-me-malala-review/)
- **The Wrap** (35/100, inferred): TheWrap finds the documentary shallow and better suited to schools than theaters, despite its emotional pull. It praises Malala and her father’s heroism, especially the compelling account of her father’s choices and activism. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/he-called-me-malala-review-malala-yousafzai-davis-guggenheim/)
- **Consequence**, Blake Goble (25/100, inferred): Goble argues that the documentary fails despite Malala Yousafzai’s compelling story. He criticizes its disjointed structure and says it cuts short the rare moments when her words and activism shine. [Read](https://consequence.net/2015/10/film-review-he-named-me-malala/)

## Details

- **Director:** Davis Guggenheim
- **Director:** Davis Guggenheim
- **Editor:** Greg Finton
- **Music:** Thomas Newman
- **Producer:** Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Davis Guggenheim
- **Cast:** Malala Yousafzai as Self; Ziauddin Yousafzai as Self; Toor Pekai Yousafzai as Self; Khushal Yousafzai as Self; Atal Yousafzai as Self; Mobin Khan as ER Doctor (uncredited)
- **Runtime:** 1h 27m
- **First release (Canada):** 12 September 2015
- **Genres:** Documentary
- **Box office:** $3 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghiYve6k68

## Where to watch in Ukraine

- Apple TV: rent ₴3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy ₴4.99, sd

*Checked 2026-10-02.*

Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BE, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IL, IT, JP, LT, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, SE, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Persepolis* (2007), Fi1m 87: A girl grows up under theocracy, drawn by hand, and nobody turns her into a saint. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/persepolis.md)
- *Wadjda* (2012), Fi1m 80: A Saudi schoolgirl wants a bicycle; the film says more about girls and rules than most speeches. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wadjda.md)
- *For Sama* (2019), Fi1m 88: A mother films Aleppo for her daughter; the home footage here is unsparing where Guggenheim’s is gentle. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/for-sama.md)
- *The Breadwinner* (2017), Fi1m 84: Animated Kabul under the Taliban, with the threat kept in the frame rather than on the radio. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-breadwinner-2017.md)
- *Waiting for "Superman"* (2010): Guggenheim on schooling when he still had an argument and the nerve to make it.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/he-named-me-malala