The Trouble with Pirates

Black Hawk Down

1997

The story behind the infamous downing of an American Black Hawk helicopter by Somali gunmen.

The Pirate Tapes

2011

Exposing piracy in Somalia from the inside out, The Pirates Tapes follows Mohamed Ashareh, a young Somali-Canadian, as he travels to Somalia in hopes of joining an active pirate cell. Armed only with a hidden camera, Mohamed works his way into a cell run by a ruthless warlord, Jama Donyal, and is assigned to his first hijacking mission. When things take an unexpected turn, Mohamed finds himself on the run from the law with the danger of execution looming.

The True Story of Pirates

2022

Thanks to new excavations in Mauritius and Madagascar, as well as archival and museum research in France, Spain, England and Canada, a group of international scholars paint a new portrait of the world of piracy in the Indian Ocean.

Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates

2003

Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World

2017

The vessel is Infinity, a 120-foot hand-built sailboat, crewed by a band of miscreants. The journey, an 8,000 mile Pacific crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a stop in Antarctica. Unlike all the other boats heading to the Southern Ocean, Infinity is no ice-reinforced super-yacht crewed by professional sailors; rather, Infinity lives in the moment and sails on a whim. What can be found in abundance on board is blood, sweat, enthusiasm, risk tolerance, disdain for authority, and an ample supply of alcohol – all in all a mad voyage of reckless adventure just for the sheer joy of it. Along the way the crew will battle a hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea, assist the radical environmental group Sea Shepherd in their fight with illegal whalers, and tear every sail they have. At the heart of their journey is a quest for awe and a sense of wonder with the raw power of the natural world.

The True Story of Black Hawk Down

2003

On October 3rd, 1993, 120 Delta Force Commandos and Army Rangers were dropped into the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia. Their mission was a fast daylight raid to kidnap lead terrorist Mohammed Farrah Aidid, who had been killing U.N. workers delivering food to starving Somalis. Aidid’s goal was to control the country by controlling all the food. The mission abruptly changed to a rescue operation. Surrounded by Somali militia, a fierce firefight ensued that left American troops trapped and fighting for their lives. The ordeal left 18 American men dead, 70 wounded, with 3,000 Somalis casualties. This brilliant documentary tells the true story of "Black Hawk Down" through the memories and voices of the American Special Forces survivors. Also included are Somali militiamen as they recount their harrowing experiences of battle.

Cinema Dadaab

2018

In one of the world's largest and oldest refugee camps, Dadaab, the inhabitans survive by watching films and dreaming. The refugees cannot leave the camp, but they let their minds escape the harsh reality: by going to the simple cinema hall run by Abdikafi Mohamed, the film's protagonist.

Pirates: Threatening Global Trade

2016

The French researcher Bertrand Monnet visits pirates in Nigeria and Somalia to learn how they make money from oil theft and kidnapping.

I, Pastafari: A Flying Spaghetti Monster Story

2019

I, Pastafari is a documentary film about the world's fastest growing religion: The Church of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. R'Amen.

The Pirates of Buban

1972

By going to the Philippines, Imamura comes to meet people living in an extreme poverty. He discovers very quickly that some communities are under the control of cruel & armed pirates. Imamura will come to meet those men in order to understand their position.

The President vs. the Pirates

2013

The make or break story of a Somali-Australian refugee who went back to where he came from to do battle with ruthless pirates and Islamic militants - and transform his broken homeland into a modern African State.

The Essence of Terror

2013

Journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye talk about the horrendous days in the desert, rail executions and false terror charges. They were arrested before they could report on the violence in the closed state of Ogaden. But the Ethiopian regime failed to silence them. With the help of never-before-seen video material and testimonies smuggled out of the country by a high ranking official, the whole story can finally be told. About Johan and Martin. About the violence in Ogaden. And about the prisoners of dictatorship.

Last Hijack

2014

Documentary that follows the lives of two pirates and their community on the Somali coastline; what are the incentives of the pirates, why did they become pirates, how did they grow up in a country with political chaos, war and extreme poverty? The narrative structure is built around two interweaving story-lines; one depicting the "present", the daily lives of the pirates and their community, and the second in the "past", revealing through epic animation, the unfolding of a recent hijacking.

Somalia: The Forgotten Story

2016

This documentary reaches to the depth of Somali history, starting from the strong kingdoms that ruled areas far away into Africa, passing by the Portuguese raids and ending with its division into five colonies ruled by different European forces, leaving the people of the same race and language separated by geographical borders. It addresses problems of civil war, chaos, theft, and mass destruction. It also focuses on valuable attempts by national organizations to resist occupation and foster peace.

Pirating pirates

2014