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Folks at HBO asked me to share this with you.
This tuesday, September 7th debuts the new Academy Award Winner Alex Gibney directed documentary “My Trip to Al Qaeda“, that combines documentary and stage performance footage, chronicles Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright´s exploration of Modern Terrorism.
On Tuesday, September 7th HBO Documentary Films presents My Trip to Al Qaeda.
Academy Award winner Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”) brings Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright’s staged “My Trip to al-Qaeda,” one-man play to the screen, chronicling fundamentalist Islam’s rise to power, as well as Wright’s struggle to maintain objectivity as a journalist in the wake of 9/11.
In 2006, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright staged “My Trip to al-Qaeda,” a one-man play that explored the moral dilemmas he encountered while researching his bestselling book “The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.” Now, Academy Award® winner Alex Gibney (“Taxi to the Dark Side”) brings Wright’s off-Broadway show to the screen, chronicling fundamentalist Islam’s rise to power, as well as Wright’s struggle to maintain objectivity as a journalist in the wake of 9/11, in the exclusive HBO documentary My Trip to Al Qaeda, debuting TUESDAY, SEPT. 7 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT).
Other HBO playdates: Sept. 12 (2:45 p.m.), 15 (2:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 20 (5:00 p.m.), 25 (11:30 a.m.) and 30 (9:00 p.m., 4:50 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Sept. 22 (8:00 p.m.) and Oct. 11 (6:30 p.m.)
A firsthand account of Wright’s experience researching his 2006 book “The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” My trip to Al Qaeda sheds important light on al-Qaeda, Islamic radicalism, hostility to America and the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East overall. The riveting travelogue/performance piece combines Wright’s first-person narrative with documentary footage and photographs, while raising important questions about the war on terrorism, and questioning the U.S. stance as a role model as it engages in a war that erodes the country’s reputation and resources.
Lawrence Wright’s work in the Middle East dates back to 1969, when he taught at American University in Cairo, where future 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta would study. However, the events of 9/11 intensified his focus on the causes and consequences of Islamic terrorism throughout the region, propelling him to write a book on the subject. Wright’s acclaimed work spawned a theatrical piece that combined his journalistic insights, culled from 600 interviews and 4,100 pages of notes, with footage and photos of the places he had visited during his extensive research.
An official selection of 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, My Trip to Al Qaeda offers a crash course in modern Islamic fundamentalism. Wright’s footage and interviews range from the radicalization of future al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri after he and other Egyptians were imprisoned for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian president Anwar El Sadat, to the rise of Osama Bin Laden (son of a wealthy Saudi contractor) after he fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s, to America’s current dilemma as a superpower in danger of overextending its military presence in a region filled with militants who prefer death over life.
My trip to Al Qaeda blends portions of Wright’s play with backstage chats, archived television clips and footage of Wright’s interviews of people with ties to al-Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist movement. Interviews include:
Yassir al-Sirri, who killed a 12-year-old girl while trying to assassinate the Egyptian prime minister and later escaped to freedom in the U.K.
Maajid Nawaz, a once-jailed Muslim who describes the torture techniques that turned intellectuals like Ayman al-Zawahiri into radicals.
Ali Salem, a playwright who imagines the “kindergarten of hate” that schools Muslim youth.
Jamal Khalifa, a Saudi businessman who was married to Bin Laden’s sister and was killed in 2007.
Lawrence Wright is an author, screenwriter, playwright and a staff writer for The New Yorker. His 2006 history of al-Qaeda, “The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11,” was on the New York Times bestseller list for eight weeks, was nominated for the National Book Award and won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, among other honors. Wright co-wrote the 1998 film “The Siege,” which depicts events eerily similar to those occurring in the U.S. after 9/11. In 2006, his one-man play “My Trip to al-Qaeda,” based on the book, enjoyed a sold-out, six-week run in Soho. Wright is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
An Oscar®-, Emmy®- and Grammy-winning producer, Alex Gibney wrote, directed and produced the Oscar®-winning 2008 HBO documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side,” as well as 2006’s Oscar®-nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.” Gibney’s directing and producing credits also include “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, No End in Sight,” “The Trials of Henry Kissinger” and “Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues.” “Casino Jack and the United States of Money,” which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, was released in theaters nationwide in May. His upcoming documentary is “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer.”
HBO Documentary Films presents in association with Jigsaw Productions A Film by Alex Gibney of A Play by Lawrence Wright; directed by Alex Gibney; produced by Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright; produced by Alison Ellwood, Alexandra Johnes and Kendall McCarthy; based on the play “My Trip to Al-Qaeda,” by Lawrence Wright; executive producers, Patricia Barnes Matthews and Dana O’Keefe; edited by Alison Ellwood; original music, Max Richter.
Also, as a special treat, I have the trailer video for My Trip to Al Qaeda.
Watch Trailer video for HBO Documentary My Trip to Al Qaeda