January 28, 2015 – Montreal, National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
As the gradual closing of the prison at Guantánamo and disturbing accounts from detainees continue to make headlines, Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd (Ouïghours, prisonniers de l’absurde), co-produced by Macumba Media / NFB and directed by Patricio Henríquez, begins its theatrical run February 13 in Montreal, at Cineplex Forum in its English version and at Cinéma Excentris in its French version. Following its world premiere at the 43rd Festival du nouveau cinéma and a well-received screening in official competition at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), this feature-length documentary is continuing to make the rounds of the international festival circuit, with screenings at the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague (March 2 to 11) and the London Human Rights Watch International Film Festival (March 18 to 27).
In Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd, filmmaker Patricio Henríquez charts the incredible odyssey of a group of men from China’s persecuted Uyghur minority of Turkic-speaking Muslims, sold to the United States as terrorists and detained in Guantánamo Bay. Exposing the cold logic of post–September 11 geopolitics, this documentary is part human drama, part political thriller, and both thought-provoking and indignant.
Quick Facts
• Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd, Patricio Henríquez
Co-produced by Macumba Media (Patricio Henríquez and Michelle Shephard) and the NFB (Colette Loumède) with the collaboration of Radio-Canada and RDI.
Running time: 99 min
• About the director
Chilean-born Patricio Henríquez settled in Montreal in 1974 following the fall of the Allende government. After making his first film, Yasser Arafat et les Palestiniens, in 1980, he produced feature reports for Quebec public television. In 1996, he co-founded production company Macumba International, for which he has directed several multiple-award-winning films: September 11, 1973: The Last Stand of Salvador Allende; Images of a Dictatorship (Jutra for Best Documentary, 2000); The Dark Side of the White Lady; Under the Hood: A Voyage into the World of Torture (Jutra for Best Documentary, 2009); and You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantanamo. His latest effort, Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd, explores the tragic abuses of the so-called war on terror.
Associated Links
Festival du nouveau cinema: www.nouveaucinema.ca
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA): www.idfa.nl
One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival : www.oneworld.cz
London Human Rights Watch International Film Festival : ff.hrw.org/london
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The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) creates groundbreaking interactive works, social-issue documentaries and auteur animation. The NFB has produced over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 9 Canadian Screen Awards, 8 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
