“The UnRedacted (Jihad Rehab),” the Sundance documentary about former Al-Qaeda fighters and others detained at the U.S. military facility in Guantanamo Bay, is getting a one-week theatrical run in Los Angeles as it makes a push for a nomination at the Academy Awards.
Directed by Meg Smaker, the documentary shines a spotlight on the Mohammed bin Nayef Counseling and Care Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where suspected former members of Islamic extremist groups undergo rehabilitation programs. The film follows four former GITMO detainees as they go through the program and explores how young men in the Middle East are radicalized and how that process can be undone.
The film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and received early praise from critics, but sentiment towards the film turned sharply after it was criticized by several Muslim and Middle Eastern/NorthAfrican/South Asian documentary filmmakers who accused “Jihad Rehab” of perpetuating negative stereotypes about Muslims even with its empathetic tone and that Smaker, who is neither Muslim nor of Middle Eastern descent, is not qualified to direct such a documentary.
As multiple film festivals, including South By Southwest, withdrew the film from their programs, Smaker has defended her since renamed documentary in interviews with TheWrap, The National Review and The New York Times, among other outlets. Smaker will be holding director Q&As after the film’s screenings at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, where it will be running from December 9-15. Producers for the film say that the screenings were made possible after a previous limited engagement at the Laemmle Glendale had multiple sold out screenings.
“The UnRedacted (Jihad Rehab)” is also screening for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on the organization’s streaming site, as Smaker is pushing for the film to get an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature and/or Best Picture.
“My hope is that now that the film is Oscar-qualified and up on the Academy website, that people will see the film for themselves,” Smaker told TheWrap last month.
Watch the trailer above.