Terrorist Rehab Center in Saudi Arabia?!?

I saw a documentary last night at a Libertarian film fest that came to Memphis (https://anthemfilmfestival.com). THE UNREDACTED follows a handful of Guantanamo prisoners sent to a rehab center in Saudi Arabia. It was really interesting to see jihad terrorists humanized. 

Guantanamo detainees are released into a year long program of de-radicalization in Saudi Arabia, with the eventual goal of finding jobs and starting families.

The movie got canceled by mobs at Sundance, SXSW, and everywhere else, so this was the only public screening so far, besides a screening at San Quentin Prison. Read about the journey and public outcry here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/23/jihad-rehab-documentary-making-unredacted-saudi-arabia 

The Q&A with the director Meg Smaker was fascinating. Her journey as a firefighter, to seeking to know more about the Middle East after 9-11, to moving to Yemen and learning Arabic, to working in Saudi Arabia and building relationships that led to filming interview with 150 terrorists, to narrowing it down to a handful of rehabees during the program and for a short while after, until her access was removed.

I did not think I would believe these terrorists could be rehabilitated so I didn't plan on seeing the movie. Then I learned how the movie was cancelled, predominantly because a white, non-Muslim woman made it. It seemed like a rare opportunity, and I'm against cancel culture.

These terrorists were teenagers when they were recruited to jihad training camps. They spent 15+ years in GITMO prison, with no access to the outside world. They were not charged with any crimes, nor did they go to trial. When they were released, they had no experience with the Internet or smart phones.

I don't agree with everything Meg said, but some things ring true: These men are searching for purpose and belonging. There are four motivations for these men joining jihad training groups; Cause or duty, Economic, Peer pressure or family, Adventure. I can relate to the person who seeks adventure. In fact, these four motivations are the same for American teens who join the US Military.

Some other thoughts by Meg:

The most powerful force in world is storytelling, because stories shape how we think and spend. 

Hollywood gatekeepers lack courage and principals. 

You can argue politics and facts but not a personal story.

The Diary of Anne Frank made 6 million Jewish deaths in Germany tangible. 

Vets connect with this movie because they miss the camaraderie of soldier life and feel more in common with enemy soldiers than the people who sent them to war. 

Cancel culture: The answer isn’t to cancel discussion, it’s to come up with better ideas. 

The inmates at San Quentin they saw themselves in the terrorists' stories. 

Saudi Arabia claims their rehab center is 85% effective. Meg talked to the head of the FBI in Saudi Arabia who said the US tracks all Gitmo prisoners who have been released and that 80-82% do not return to fighting. 

The reason for their success of the program is that a family member in Saudi Arabia must sign for them at the risk of getting jailed in their place if they skip country, and family shame is a huge motivator there. Also, after graduation, the Saudi government provides a house, car, job help and up to $30K dowry so they can get married because the likelihood of a former terrorist returning to terror diminishes when they have their own family. This is unaffordable in America, or for larger groups of criminals.

Torture in Guantanamo did the radicalization, at least against America. 

Empathy in America has been dropping. Every one of us has capacity for extreme good or extreme evil.

Rehab isn’t sexy, it takes time, longer than a political term. 

Thoughts?

Ian

Cancelling CANCEL CULTURE with LOOR TV

Ever heard of Shark Tank-like pitching for Faith Driven Businesses? I just spent two days in Dallas with the winners of the Tampa Lion's Den pitch competition, LOOR.TV. The Lion's Den connects investors with faith driven entrepreneurs. LOOR.TV is creating a game-ified, equity-crowdfunding, streaming platform aimed at funding and sharing movie, TV and documentary content that young people actually want to watch.

The business model for independent filmmakers is broken. It's a winning-the-lottery mentality where they beg, borrow and steal to make a movie that's hopefully not too compromised in apparent production value (making $100K look like $1M) and then sells for a profit at film festivals or to streaming channels. The chances of making money this way is super low, and I keep meeting exhausted filmmakers that are sad when they can't find a distributor that will spend the same kind of sweat equity selling their movie as they spent to make it. So, they give their precious baby away, but at least the movie they slaved on for years is out there for people to see. Repeat after me: It's a movie BUSINESS.

The smart (and Biblical) way to finance a movie is to count the cost in advance and pre-sell the movie before making it. Kinda like a high-rise apartment complex will determine a need and start pre-renting apartments first. Ideally, filmmakers copy the model of Angel Studios and raise the fans in advance who pre-purchase tickets to the movie. LOOR TV is pursuing this model. This is hard work. I helped produce two features that are upside down for the investors. I intend to remedy this.

The problem with most Christian movie distributors is they don't know how to reach young people, nor do they even try. So we have generations of film goers who are being spoon fed junk food by a Hollywood world view that is in conflict with Biblical values. There's some good content out there, some neutral, but tons of woke content that clearly contradicts God's truth, goodness and beauty.

And young people get all the content they want on social media for free, so why should they pay for my movie? What's my value-add to them?

Eyre Films and LOOR TV have a lot in common. How to cancel Cancel Culture with slightly irreverent movies that appeal to young people (likely mostly to young men, but niche down to find those super fans). As I reactivate the fans who have watched "Run Cholo Run" 2.2M times, but with music I didn't license :(, and promote the digitally enhanced re-release of Vengeance Trail, I will be learning to find superfan audiences for Prey For Mason, Smash and Run, and Puberty From Heck! all in various stages of development. Stay tuned. 

Meanwhile, here's Jason Farley and Marcus Pittman enjoying a pitch I made for a Romans 6:23 monster comedy that might have to be hosted in Finland, lol! It will definitely cause Cancel Culture to get triggered!

Ian