Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr

Directors Michelle Shephard, Patrick Reed
Year 2015
Run Time 80min
Genre Documentary
In 2002, when Canadian-born Omar Khadr was 15 years old, he was caught by American troops in a firefight in the village of Ayub Kheyl, Afghanistan. Affiliated with the Taliban at the time, Khadr was imprisoned for throwing a grenade that resulted in the death of an American soldier, despite his being a minor.

His subsequent detention at Guantanamo Bay, a harsh prison on the southern coast of Cuba, became the topic of a major political debate, as child soldiers have not been prosecuted for war crimes since WWII.

Guantanamo’s Child gives Khadr a chance to speak for himself on camera for the first time. More than just a stirring story, this documentary delivers an engrossing intimate portrait of how a teenager from a Toronto suburb became the first juvenile to ever be tried for war crimes.

Directors

Michelle Shephard, Patrick Reed

Producers

Peter Raymont, Patrick Reed, Michelle Shephard

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English