The Hostage Takers
Denmark2023documentary86'Międzynarodowy konkurs dokumentalny (2023)
They were called the Beatles because before they joined the ISIS, they had grown up in the UK where they learnt to speak English with a local accent. As prison guards, they were the ones who kept watch over Western hostages and inflicted particular cruelty. They filmed executions of prisoners. The kidnapped individuals who were the subject of blackmail included also well-known war correspondents, not all of whom returned from Syria. One unique characteristic of the film is the confrontation between the interviews with jihadists and the memories of victims, negotiators and witnesses, which makes a true documentary thriller.
- directed by
- Puk Damsgaard
Puk Damsgård was born in 1978 in Denmark. She is a journalist and has been DR's Middle East correspondent since 2011. She has written the bestsellers "Arabica" (2020), "The Black Cat in Mosul" (2017), "ISIS Hostage" (2015) and "Where the Sun Weeps" (2014) as well as "Wolf Hearts" (2011) and "The Land of the Pure" (2009). For "ISIS Hostage" she received, among other things, Danish journalism's most prestigious award, the Cavling prize in 2015. The book has been sold to over 20 countries.
Søren Klovborg
Søren Klovborg is a producer, scriptwriter and commissioning editor of documentaries. In depth investigation include award winning Organs for Sale (2004), Victim No. 72 and The Surrogate Scam. He has worked on many films as a consultant.
- cinematography
- Lau Kraen Svensson, Jim Walker
- music
- Jonas Bjerre
- sound
- Marie Kildebæk, Alex Pavlovic
- editing
- Theis Schmidt
- production
- Søren Klovborg (DR)
- Photo
- Trailer