Director / Writer Dana Ziyasheva Talks About 'Defenders of Life'
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.

Broadway star Jimmy Canfield stars in a patriotic show on the great white way during WWI. He plays the heroic soldier, but he is doesn't want to join the Army. To evade some troubles with fellow actress Berenice, he acts like joining the forces going over there, but that turns out to be real. In France he falls in love with a French barmaid and is arrested as spy. He escapes from prison, only to end in the uniform of a German officer leading "his" soldiers in an Allied trap. But being escaped from prison and wearing the enemy's uniform isn't that healthy in wartime.
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.
Passing is a visually stunning portrayal of Larsen's story with an inclusive cast, and the performances of Thompson and Negga are sensational.
I hope that more people will see Joyland, understand the situation, and eventually change themselves and society so we can have a more accommodating world where everyday tragedies like the one depicted in the film do not occur.
As Sexual Assault Awareness Month comes to an end, I’d like to urge viewers and filmmakers to take a long and hard look at how rape is portrayed on screen.
Between its problematic nature, its lack of originality, and the senselessness of its violence, Onslaught cannot be recommended in good faith.
This film is based off of The Diary of a Young Girl, which was written during the Holocaust period.