Watch Omar Khadr’s first in-depth interview since being released on bail. OMAR KHADR: OUT OF THE SHADOWS, is a documentary collaboration between CBC, Toronto Star and White Pine Pictures. CBC will air the world broadcast premiere, this Thursday night at 9 p.m./9:30 p.m. NT on CBC-TV. ICI Radio-Canada Télé will also broadcast the documentary on Saturday, May 30, at 9 p.m.
Based in part on the book Guantanamo’s Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr by award-winning Toronto Star reporter Michelle Shephard, the documentary explores Khadr’s life beginning with his upbringing in suburban Toronto, to Peshawar, into Afghanistan, and ultimately back to Canada. Shephard, a co-director on the film, has been covering Khadr’s story for the Toronto Star since 2002, including more than 25 trips to the U.S. Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Patrick Reed and co-directed by Shephard, OMAR KHADR: OUT OF THE SHADOWS offers an intimate look at how a Canadian teenager became the central figure of one of the first U.S. war crimes trials since the prosecution of Nazi commanders in the 1940s and the only juvenile ever tried. The film includes unprecedented access to Khadr following nearly 13 years in detention, as well as interviews with his lawyer, Dennis Edney, former interrogator Damien Corsetti, and members of the Khadr family.
Also, tonight on The National, Terence McKenna will have an exclusive first look at the documentary with revealing excerpts from Omar Khadr’s interview.
OMAR KHADR: OUT OF THE SHADOWS is produced by White Pine Pictures in association with CBC, Radio-Canada, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera America, and with the participation of Shaw Media Hot Docs Development Fund, Canada Media Fund, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada’s new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Bassett, publicist, CBC
simon.bassett@cbc.ca 416-205-8533 (office) 416-988-1590 (mobile)
