FESTIVALS: * Australian Cinemathèque (Brisbane, Australia)
* DOK Leipzig (Germany) * Dok.Fest Münich (Germany) * Jerusalem Film Festival (Israel) * Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival (Czech Republic) * Sheffield Doc/Fest (UK) * Sydney Film Festival (Australia) * Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival (Greece) * Abu Dhabi Film Festival (UAE) * Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia) * BAFICI (Buenos Aires, Argentina) * Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (Cape Town, South Africa) * Lemesos Int'l Documentary Festival (Cyprus) * Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * New Zealand Film Festival Trust (Wellington , New Zealand) * Movies that Matter Foundation (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) * Edinburgh International Film Festival (UK) * Festival dei Popoli (Firenze, Italy) * Bergen International Film Festival (Norway) * San Sebastian Film Festival (Spain) * SANFIC - Santiago International Film Festival (Chile) * Dokufest (Kosovo) * Cologne International Film Festival (Köln, Germany) * Rio International Film Festival (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) * Free Zone Belgrade Human Rights Film Festival (Serbia) * Camerimage - The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Toruń, Poland) * Mumbai Film Festival (India) * Malatya International Film Festival (Istanbul, Turkey) * Input Documentary Festival (Hilversum, The Netherlands) * Rendez-Vous Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey) * Best Doks - Arri Kino (Munich, Germany) * Cinema Nova (Brugge, Belgium) * One World Romania (Bucharest, Romania) * Festival des Libertés (Brussels, Belgium) * San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival (Spain) * Summer Film School Film Festival (Uherské Hradiště * , Czech Republic) * Bellaria Film Festival (Bellaria Igea Marina (RN), Italy) * Crime and Punishment International Film Festival (Beyoglu - Istanbul , Turkey) * Historical Film Festival Râşnov (Constanta, Romania) * Mizan Muslim World Film Festival (Bandung, Indonesia) * Viennale (Austria) * Filmmuseum Potsdam (Germany) * Gartenbaukino (Wien, Austria) * Filmarchiv Austria (Vienna, Austria) * Open Doek (Turnhout, Belgium) * Gijón International Film Festival (Spain)
AWARDS: * Sundance - Excellence in Cinematography Award
* Edinburgh - Grand Jury Award Feature Documentary
* Full Frame - Special Jury Award
* Hot Docs - Special Jury Award
* True/False - True Vision Award
* Sarasota - Jury Award Best Documentary
* IFFBoston - Jury Award Best Documentary
The Oath
Category |
Human Interest, Human Rights, Investigative, Politics
Year |
2010
Country |
USA
Running time |
96’44”
Format |
HD 16:9
Production |
Praxis Films
Director |
Laura Poitras
Director Laura Poitras’ documentary “The Oath” is the second installment in a planned trilogy that includes her previous film “My Country, My Country” (2006), which was nominated for an Academy Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Emmy Award. “The Oath,” which is screening as part of the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition, “is the interlocking drama of two brothers-in-law, Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdam, whose associations with al Qaeda in the 1990s propelled them on divergent courses.
The film delves into Abu Jandal’s daily life as a taxi driver in Sana’a, Yemen, and Hamdan’s military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay prison. Abu Jandal and Hamdan’s personal stories—how they came to serve as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard and driver respectively—act as prisms through which to humanize and contextualize a world the Western media demonizes. As Hamdan’s trial progresses, his military lawyers challenge fundamental flaws in the court system. As charismatic Abu Jandal dialogues with his son, Muslim students, and journalists, he generously unveils the complex evolution of his belief system since 9/11.”