Released: 2010
Running Time: 96 mins
Awards
Gotham Award, Best Documentary
Sundance FF, Best Cinematography
Emmy Award nominee, Best Documentary
Cinema Eye Honors, Directing Award
Edinburgh FF, Best Documentary
True/False, True Vision Award
Hot Docs, Special Jury Award
Full Frame, Special Jury Award
IDA, Humanitas Award
IFFBoston, Best Documentary
Sarasota FF, Best Documentary
Credits
The Oath
Filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, THE OATH tells the story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military commissions.
We enter the story in a taxicab in Yemen. Here we meet Abu Jandal, the film’s central protagonist, as he transports passengers through the chaotic streets of Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a. Salim Hamdan is the film’s “ghost” protagonist. His seven-year captivity at Guantanamo is narrated through his prison letters. Following the story of these two men, THE OATH takes the viewer on a journey that leads to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, Guantanamo Bay Prison, FBI interrogations, and the U.S. Supreme Court.