Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush | |
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German | Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush |
Directed by | Andreas Dresen |
Written by | Laila Stieler |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Andreas Höfer |
Edited by | Jörg Hauschild |
Music by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 119 minutes [1] |
Country | Germany |
Languages |
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Box office | $172,574 [2] |
Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush (German: Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush) is a 2022 German-French biographical film directed by Andreas Dresen which premiered in completion at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February 2022. It is based on the true story of Murat Kurnaz, a young German of Turkish descent, who was unlawfully detained in Guantanamo Bay in 2001, and his mother's legal battle for his release. [3]
The film follows the titular Rabiye Kurnaz, a Turkish housewife from Bremen, Germany, as she discovers her eldest son, Murat, has been detained in Pakistan by the United States government. He is held in Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Cuba, for over five years, during which the rather temperamental Rabiye and the more reserved human rights lawyer, Bernhard Docke, launch a legal dispute in his name. [4]
Their campaign for a fair trial takes them all the way to the Supreme Court, finally securing Murat's release in 2006, after which it comes to light that the German government had attempted to prevent his return by revoking his right of entry. [5] Murat has been systematically tortured during his extrajudicial detainment and, as of the film's airing, has yet to receive any form of compensation or apology for his treatment. [6]
The film had its world premiere in competition at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February 2022. [7] It had a limited international release in theaters beginning in Germany on 28 April 2022. [8]
Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush grossed $0 in North America, [8] and $172,574 in other territories. [2]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 50% based on 6 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 5.8/10. [9]
The film was compared to similar David-and-Goliath stories such as Erin Brockovich or The Blind Side . [3] Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian criticised its often jovial tone, [10] while other reviewers have praised its tendency toward lightheartedness in the face of such gruelling subject matter. [6] [11]
Writer Laila Stieler and actor Meltem Kaplan received awards for best screenplay and best actress in a starring role respectively at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival. [12]
The director, screenwriter, and cast of the film also received several nominations for the German Film Awards. [13]
Murat Kurnaz is a Turkish citizen and legal resident of Germany who was held in extrajudicial detention by the United States at its military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan and in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba beginning in December 2001. He was tortured in both places. By early 2002, intelligence officials of the United States and Germany had concluded that accusations against Kurnaz were groundless.
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz after U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush and were coordinated through the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants.
Competent Tribunal is a term used in Article 5 paragraph 2 of the Third Geneva Convention, which states:
Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison within the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Gitmo, on the coast of Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. As of March 2022, of the 780 people detained there since January 2002 when the military prison first opened after the September 11 attacks, 741 had been transferred elsewhere, 30 remained there, and 9 had died while in custody.
Michael Koch is a Swiss film director and screenwriter.
Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi Al-Utaybi (1976 – June 10, 2006) was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, who was arrested in 2001 in Pakistan and held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba from early 2002. Al-Utaybi died in custody on June 10, 2006. The Department of Defense reported his death and those of two other detainees the same day as suicides.
Lakhdar Boumediene is an Algerian-born citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who was held in military custody in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba beginning in January 2002. Boumediene was the lead plaintiff in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), a U.S. Supreme Court decision that Guantanamo detainees and other foreign nationals have the right to file writs of habeas corpus in U.S. federal courts.
Civil Action No. 02-cv-0299 is a habeas corpus petition submitted on behalf of several Guantanamo captives.
Ellen Judith Huvelle is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She has overseen several significant cases. In a case decided in May 2001, Huvelle "upheld federal regulations that restrict the sale of consumers' names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers." Later that year, Huvelle heard requests by family members of Vince Foster seeking access to pictures of his body taken after his death. In November 2005, she accepted the guilty plea in the high-profile prosecution of lobbyist Michael Scanlon. Huvelle assumed senior status on June 3, 2014.
Guantanamo Bay homicide accusations were made regarding the deaths of three prisoners on June 10, 2006, at the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camp for enemy combatants at its naval base in Cuba. Two of the men had been cleared by the military for release. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) claimed their deaths at the time as suicides, although their families and the Saudi government argued against the findings, and numerous journalists have raised questions then and since. The DOD undertook an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, published in redacted form in 2008.
Wolfgang Kohlhaase was a German screenwriter, film director, and writer. He was considered "one of the most important screenwriters in German film history", and was one of the GDR's most well-known and prolific film screenwriters. Kohlhaase was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.
Andreas Dresen is a German film director. His directing credits include Cloud 9, Summer in Berlin, Grill Point and Night Shapes. His film Stopped on Track premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prize of Un Certain Regard. Dresen is known for his realistic style, which gives his films a semi-documentary feel. He works very teamoriented and heavily uses improvisation. In 2013 he was a member of the jury at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.
The Guantanamo Trap is a documentary film about four individuals whose lives were changed by their association with the Guantanamo Bay detention camps. The film was directed by Thomas Wallner and won the special jury prize at the 2011 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
War on Terror is an Austrian documentary film about the "War on Terror" initiated by U.S. president George W. Bush in 2001. The film features interviews with Manfred Nowak, who was United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture from 2004 to 2010, Amy Goodman, the host and co-founder of Democracy Now! and the U.S. historian Alfred W. McCoy. Two former detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp are introduced in the film, Murat Kurnaz and Mustafa Ait Idir.
Jeanette Spassova is a Bulgarian-German actress.
The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021 the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's drama film Peter von Kant. Isabelle Huppert was awarded Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement on 15 February 2022 at the Berlinale Palast award ceremony. Her film by Laurent Larivière, À propos de Joan was also screened.
Coma is a 2022 French film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello. Combining animation and live action, it tells the story of a teenage girl who is locked in her house during a global health crisis and navigates between dreams and reality, until she starts following a disturbing and mysterious YouTuber named Patricia Coma. It stars Louise Labèque, Julia Faure, Gaspard Ulliel, Laetitia Casta, Vincent Lacoste, Louis Garrel and Anaïs Demoustier. Coma was the last film Ulliel worked in before his death.
Meltem Kaptan is a Turkish German actress and comedian. She won a Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival.
A Piece of Sky is a 2022 Swiss-German romantic drama film written and directed by Swiss filmmaker Michael Koch. The film was set against the backdrop of Swiss Alps. The film was officially selected at 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. The film also earned special mention from the main competition jury for its screenplay during the Berlin International Film Festival.