Back in January, an independent documentary called Jihad Rehab had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Fast forward to October 11th, Jihad Rehab–now going by The UnRedacted–has resurfaced in the zeitgeist after the film’s director Meg Smaker made an appearance on the Sam Harris podcast, Making Sense. Her story is inspirational, to say the least, and I encourage everyone to give the episode “A Tale of Cancellation” a listen. Last month, I was invited to watch The UnRedacted at a small theater in Glendale, CA. With no official distribution or release plan, The UnRedacted is a film that no one can see. However, its story is still worth telling in hopes that this will change.

The heartbeat of the film is empathy which, ironically, upsets many of the film’s naysayers. The UnRedacted follows a small group of former terrorists and Guantanamo Bay detainees as they attempt to reintegrate into society by spending a mandated amount of time at the Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Advice and Care, a rehab institution for Islamist jihadis in Saudi Arabia. Meg Smaker’s film is highly intimate as she is the one sitting across from the men asking them, in their native Yemeni tongue, questions about their childhoods, their decision to join terrorist organizations, and their dreams for the future.

It’s easy to feel hatred toward these strangers at the onset, it goes against every instinct to empathize with evil. However, Meg’s film intends to push audiences out of their comfort zone. The UnRedacted encourages us to look beyond one’s horrifying past, without judgment, and just listen.

At times, it feels almost surreal to acknowledge any feelings of sympathy for the men who participated in al-Qaeda’s reign of terror. Years spent at Guantanamo Bay didn’t offer any humanitarian rehabilitation, which is why it is vital that behavioral and psychological centers like Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Center for Advice and Care exist. Through drawing, expressive writing, and other creative activities, the men are given the opportunity to process their past and set their sights on a brighter future. Enrolling in classes to learn basic skills, like navigating the internet and balancing a checkbook to dating advice and interpersonal communication, are all intended to set up the men for success once they graduate and enter the outside world again.

This is not a film that has a “happy ending”, nor did it set out to be. This is a film that shows reality in all of its confusing and complex forms. Sure, the controversy surrounding the subject matter is layered and divisive, and best explained by Meg Smaker through her own words in her conversation with Sam Harris. But just because something is hard to watch, doesn’t mean it should be erased. The UnRedacted is not a hateful anti-American film, quite the contrary in fact. The UnRedacted is a symbolic peace offering to those who have wronged, showing that if one is committed to change and truly redemptive, a second chance at life is possible.

At the time of this review, The UnRedacted is still unavailable for viewing.

Edit: A correction was made on December 3rd, 2022: an earlier version of this article misstated that the film had been pulled from the Sundance Film Festival lineup following its World Premiere; Sundance Institute has confirmed that the film had all of its intended screenings at the festival.