The Hostage Takers

Name: The Hostage Takers
Director: Puk Damsgaard,Søren Klovborg
Released: 2023

Puk Damsgaard Søren Klovborg 2023

A film about the IS members known as The Beatles, brutal prison guards of many western hostages including American war correspondent James Foley. After Foley’s brutal, live-streamed beheading, Sean Langan, a war journalist and Foley’s friend, tracked down two Beatles members captured by the Kurds after IS left Raqqa. Langan recorded meetings with Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, that he used to explore how westerners became IS leaders. Kotey and Elsheikh were found guilty in Washington in April 2022 and sentenced to life. HOSTAGE TAKERS covers captivity in Syria (2013-2014) to the present. The film features firsthand accounts, interviews, archive footage, personal recordings, and dramatization, revealing brutal honesty.

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Running Time:

91 min.

Spoken Languages:

Danish

Subtitles:

English

Directors:

Puk Damsgaard Søren Klovborg

Producers:

Søren Klovborg

Cinematographers:

Lau Kræn Svensson, Jim Walker

Editors:

Theis Schmidt

Production Companies:

DR Sales

Investigative Journalism

Middle Eastern Studies

Military

Politics

War

Festival Participation

CPH:DOX - 2023
Nominee F:ACT Award
CPH:DOX - 2023
Winner F:ACT Award - Honorable Mention
The Hague Movies that Matter Festival - 2023
Nominee Grand Jury Documentary Award Best Documentary
The Hague Movies that Matter Festival - 2023
Nominee Camera Justitia Award

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