BERLIN: A movie at the Berlin film festival that looks at how Daesh fighters recruit young European women online highlights the dangers of using the Internet, the actress in the starring role told Reuters.
In the film “Profile,” British journalist Amy Whittaker goes undercover to investigate the workings of the militant group by creating a fake Facebook profile and pretending to be a Muslim convert called Melody Nelson.
She comes up with a cover story, disguises her tattoo, learns a bit of Arabic and dons a hijab. Over the coming days she spends hours chatting online to an Daesh fighter called Bilel, with whom she makes curry via video link in one scene, and gradually finds herself being attracted to him.
“It’s dangerous for us all to be online because there’s so much access to everything,” said Valene Kane, who plays Amy. “You can basically do anything online and I suppose that’s what the film shines a light on, this new world that we live in.”
“It’s not just Syria — it’s all over. People are being manipulated into different situations with the anonymity of being online and having an avatar or whatever it is that they use to represent themselves,” Kane said.
Bilel, who in the film is originally from London and describes his job in Syria as “killing people,” promises the woman he knows as Melody he will treat her like a queen and get her a cat.
The character, played by Shazad Latif, shows Melody a luxury home where she would live and makes a video call to her while he is having fun playing football with international recruits.
Kane said women often had a fantasy about what romance should be like and Bilel played that role perfectly for her character.
“This man comes on her screen and says everything that she thought as a little girl that she wanted — I’m going to get you a palace, I’m going to give you as many children as you want, you’ll never have to work again,” she said.
The camera shows Whittaker’s screen for the duration of the film, with viewers voyeuristically watching as she chats to Bilel and her friends and carries out Internet searches on everything from Daesh to how to freeze her eggs.
“It’s about loneliness, about who we are today, how much of our life is happening on screen and how vulnerable we are when we are attached to the Internet and how scary it is,” Russian-Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov told Reuters.
“It’s a reality — it’s how we live today,” he said. “If I’m awake for 15 hours, half of this time I’m in front of a screen — my iPhone screen or my desktop or laptop and most important events today in my life are happening on screen.”
The film is based on the true story of French journalist Anna Erelle’s undercover work, which was published in December 2014 and resulted in six people being arrested for involvement in recruitment networks.
Germany’s domestic intelligence chief said last month that Daesh continued to target vulnerable youths in Germany through the Internet and social media.
“Profile” is one of around 400 films being screened at this year’s Berlinale, which runs until Feb. 25.
Film at Berlin fest examines how Daesh militants recruit European brides
Film at Berlin fest examines how Daesh militants recruit European brides
How science is reshaping early years education
DUBAI: As early years education comes under renewed scrutiny worldwide, one UAE-based provider is making the case that nurseries must align more closely with science.
Blossom Nursery & Preschool, which operates 32 locations across the UAE, is championing a science-backed model designed to close what it sees as a long-standing gap between research and classroom practice.
“For decades, early years education has been undervalued globally — even though science shows the first five years are the most critical for brain development,” said Lama Bechara-Jakins, CEO for the Middle East at Babilou Family and a founding figure behind Blossom’s regional growth, in an interview with Arab News.
She explained that the Sustainable Education Approach was created to address “a fundamental gap between what we know from science and what actually happens in nurseries.”
Developed by Babilou Family, the approach draws on independent analysis of research in neuroscience, epigenetics, and cognitive and social sciences, alongside established educational philosophies and feedback from educators and families across 10 countries. The result is a framework built around six pillars; emotional and physical security, natural curiosity, nature-based learning, inclusion, child rhythms, and partnering with parents.
Two research insights, Bechara-Jakins says, were particularly transformative. “Neuroscience shows that young children cannot learn until they feel safe,” she said, adding that stress and inconsistent caregiving can “literally alter the architecture of the developing brain.”
Equally significant was evidence around child rhythms, which confirmed that “pushing children academically too early is not just unhelpful — it can be counterproductive.”
Feedback from families and educators reinforced these findings. Across regions, common concerns emerged around pressure on young children, limited outdoor time and weak emotional connections in classrooms. What surprised her most was that “parents all sensed that something was missing, even if they couldn’t articulate the science behind it.”
At classroom level, the strongest body of evidence centres on secure relationships. Research shows that “secure attachments drive healthy brain development” and that children learn through trusted adults. At Blossom, this translates into practices such as assigning each child “one primary educator,” prioritising calm environments, and viewing behaviour through “a neuroscience lens — as stress signals, not misbehaviour.”
Bechara-Jakins believes curiosity and nature remain overlooked in many early years settings, despite strong evidence that both accelerate learning and reduce stress. In urban centres such as Dubai, she argues, nature-based learning is “not a luxury. It is a developmental need.”
For Blossom, this means daily outdoor time, natural materials, gardening, and sensory play — intentional choices aimed at giving children what science says they need to thrive.
