MONDAY'S 6.15pm screening of Jonathan Hacker's terrorist documentary Path Of Blood (18) at City Screen, York, will be followed by a live Q&A.

Based on Hacker's book of the same title, the 92-minute film depicts Islamist terrorism "as it has never been seen before". "Drawn from a hoard of jihadi home-movie footage captured by Saudi security services, this is the story of Muslim terrorists targeting Muslim civilians and brought to justice by Muslim security agents," says City Screen marketing manager Dave Taylor. "It is a stark reminder that all who are touched by terrorism are victimised by it."

Billed as a powerful and sometimes shocking cinematic experience, Path Of Blood reveals how brainwashed youths, fuelled by idealism and the misguided pursuit of adventure, can descend into madness and carnage.

The filmmakers negotiated exclusive access to raw, unvarnished footage of young thrill-seekers at a jihadi “boot camp” deep in the Saudi desert, having signed on to overthrow the Saudi government. They plot to detonate car bombs in downtown Riyadh, become embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse with government forces and, as their plans unravel, resort to ever more brutal tactics.

Hacker adopts a strictly objective approach: his film neither editorialises nor contains any interviews or “talking heads” commentary. The home video footage was shot by the terrorists themselves, "allowing viewers to see them in all their complexity, while compelling audiences to draw their own conclusions".

Director/producer Hacker has won more than 20 awards, including a BAFTA. His documentary work ranges from international history series Secret Agent and Timewatch for the BBC, to current affairs programmes such as Britain’s First Suicide Bombers, which also tackled the subject of Al Qaeda.

The question-and-answer session will be led by filmmaker Thomas Small, co-author of the book Path Of Blood, who read Arabic and Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and Lydia Wilson, a research fellow at the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. She also works as a consultant in preventing and countering violent extremism, mostly in the Middle East, researching why and how people join armed groups and how and why they leave.

Tickets are on sale on 0871 902 5726, at picturehouses.com/york or in person at the Coney Street box office.