The Pirate Tapes

2011 Canadian film
Running time
72 minutesCountriesCanada
SomaliaLanguageEnglish

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.

External links

  • The Pirate Tapes at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata


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