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Plot

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker David Paperny tells the remarkable tale of Canadian ex-patriot William Sampson, who was working in Saudi Arabia when he was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for a car bombing he didn't commit. Arrested on suspicions of terrorism and tortured into confessing by the Saudi Arabian authorities, Sampson was only able to maintain his sanity by convincing his captors that he was completely mad. In addition to rejecting Canadian envoys and even his own father, Sampson refused to be clothed, repeatedly destroyed his cell, and covered both himself and his cell with his own feces. Thirty one months later, Sampson was released but where was the Canadian government during his darkest hours, and why weren't they attempting to secure his release? By recreating the inhuman conditions that Sampson endured during his imprisonment, director Paperny aims to raise awareness about the dangers of geo-politics, and highlight the attempts to the former prisoner to hold the Saudi government accountable for their flagrant human rights violations.
Genre(s):
Documentary,Special Interest
Run Time:
90min.
DVD Release Date:
05/05/2009
Director(s):
David Paperny
Starring:
Martin Sheen
Themes:
Fighting the System,Social Injustice,Clearing One's Name,Prison Life
Tone:
Confrontational,Disturbing,Forceful,Matter-of-Fact
Keywords:
Canadian [nationality],Saudi-Arabia,arrest,bombing,businessperson,confession [criminal],death-penalty,defiance,expatriate,expose [revelation],innocence,murder,solitary-confinement,terrorist-attack,torture,unjust-imprisonment
Language:
English