Opening Gala Screening - Irish Premiere. Screening followed by discussion with co-director Femke Wolting.
(2014) Netherlands / Germany / Ireland. 83min.
Directors: Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting
'Last Hijack' is a true tale of survival in Somalia told from the pirate’s perspective. Combining animation with documentary storytelling, the film takes an innovative hybrid approach to explore how one Somali pirate came to live such a brutal and dangerous existence. Animated re-enactments exploring Mohamed's memories, dreams and fears from his point of view are juxtaposed with raw footage from his everyday life in an original, non-fiction narrative.
Mohamed is one of Somalia’s most experienced pirates. But in his homeland, a failed state, Mohamed is just another middle-aged man trying to make ends meet. He must decide whether to risk everything for one last hijack.
What the Critics Are Saying:
'Last Hijackis a serious documentary exploration of the phenomenon of piracy in Somalia. Its extraordinary added value is recurrent sequences of animation that go where no camera can, recreating scenes of ship-boarding and violence.'
-The Hollywood Reporter
'The artwork resembles the best children’s illustrations, painterly with judicious use of just a few bold colors for contrast and clarity. Visuals in the live-action sequences also have an advanced palette, with celadon seas made almost three-dimensional by well-chosen lenses.'
-Variety