Official Selection out of Competition | U.S.A. | English, with Arabic subtitles | 117 min
When rookie writer and proud Canadian Jay Bahadur (Evan Peters) has a chance encounter with his journalist idol (Al Pacino), he decides to uproot his life in the name of research for his first book. Abandoning his comfortable life, he moves to Somalia to investigate a still-unfolding situation with pirates off the country’s coast. It’s 2008 and
the cargo vessel MV Faina has just been hijacked.
Based on a true story, and adapted from a New York Times best-selling memoir, The True Story of Jay Bahadur, Dabka follows the young journalist’s headlong dive into a country he has no business being in. A free agent without government support or a publishing deal, Jay bucks conventions to conduct a raw, on the ground investigation
and uncovers the real people and politics behind the infamous pirate gangs of Somalia.
Director Bryan Buckley takes a cinematic look at Bahadur’s ill-planned adventure as it becomes a tale of honour, resilience and friendship. Dabka is perhaps his attempt at revising Western perceptions.
The film illustrates that journalists may be some of the most courageous individuals behind-enemy-lines. They often risk their lives and put themselves in harm’s way to ensure the spread of information. It’s the kind of journalism that Somalis would refer to as Dabka, which means: “Into the fire I’ve plunged.”
Oscar-nominated director Bryan Buckley has directed over 50 Super Bowl commercials and is associated with many award-winning commercial campaigns. Buckley’s work has been inducted into the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and he is the esteemed recipient of a DGA award, an Emmy award, and over 50 Cannes Lions. A 2010 Adweek Readers’ Poll named Buckley the Commercial Director of the Decade, and he was also chosen as one of the 50 best Creative Minds in the last 25 years by Creativity Magazine. Buckley’s directing career started in 1994 when he directed the Emmy Award winning This is SportsCenter campaign. Dabka is his first feature narrative.
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