The Pirate Tapes
Directed byAndrew Moniz
Rock Baijnauth
Production
companies
Palmira PDC, Telestro, Filmic Entertainment
Distributed byHBO Documentary Films (US)
Release date
Running time
72 minutes
CountriesCanada
Somalia
LanguageEnglish

The Pirate Tapes is a documentary filmed by Somali-Canadian Mohamed Ashareh in Somalia and edited and produced by Palmira PDC in Canada.[1] The film follows Ashareh, as he infiltrates a Somali pirate operation, giving a first person view of how they recruit and organize. The documentary premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2011.[2] It was picked up for distribution by HBO Documentary Films.[3]

The Plot

Ashareh lives undercover with pirates in Somalia for months during 2009, filming their activities with a small camera hanging around his neck.[2][4] Some of the filming was done by a second cameraman. Ashareh was frequently in danger, and at one point they were both arrested and spent time in a Somali jail.[5]

Reception

The film has been heavily criticized for shortcomings attributed to Ashereh's lack of journalistic and filming experience.[4][6] There has also been a dispute between Ashareh and Palmira PDC over the rights to the footage filmed by Ashereh.[1] Andrew Moniz of Palmira PDC maintains the contracts "clearly" state Palmira would own the footage.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Waal, Mandy De (2011-11-25). "Curse of the TV tapes: Pirates of Somalia". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  2. ^ a b Albano, Carmen (2011-04-28). "Review: The Pirate Tapes - Hot Docs 2011". Toronto Film Scene. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  3. ^ Baijnauth, Rock; Moniz, Andrew (2011-07-11), The Pirate Tapes, Mohamed Ashareh, Matt Bryden, Nick Nuttal, retrieved 2018-02-12
  4. ^ a b Rickett, Oscar (2012-04-20). "Film: The Pirate Tapes". The Africa Report. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  5. ^ Rickett, Oscar (2011-10-17). "Going Undercover with Somalia's Oil-Thirsty Pirates". Vice. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  6. ^ Showler, Suzannah (2011-04-20). "Pirate Tapes, The". Torontoist. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  7. ^ Waal, Mandy De. "Curse of the TV tapes: Pirates of Somalia". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-02-12.

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