''USA vs AL-ARIAN'' is 2007

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about Sami Al-Arian and his family during and after his federal trial on terrorism-related charges. It was directed by the Norwegian director

Line Halvorsen Line Halvorsen (born 1969) is a Norwegian film maker. She was educated at the University of Trondheim and in the documentary film department at Volda University College. She has directed and edited more than 20 documentaries and travel films sinc ...

. According to the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', the film "glosses over the specific charges, and pays scant attention to the evidence."Hillsborough: Film focuses on human side of the Al-Arian saga
/ref> However '' Variety'' notes that, "Though unquestionably biased, eye-opening docu "USA vs Al-Arian" throws the spotlight on a justice system shanghaied by the Patriot Act, leaving a deeply sympathetic family frayed but not quite broken." In the trial, the jury acquitted Al-Arian of nearly half the charges, and deadlocked on the remaining charges. After the trial, Al-Arian pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to help a terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Awards

*Audience Award, 2007

Tromsø International Film Festival The Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual film festival held during the third week of January in Tromsø, Norway. The inaugural Tromsø International Film Festival was held in 1991. TIFF has 5 screening venues, including one ...

*Best Film, 2007 New Orleans Human Rights Film Festival, USA *Grand Prix (Flugeprisen), 2007 Norwegian Documentary Film Festival Volda *Honorary Mention, 2007 International Festival of Muslim Cinema "Golden Minbar", Russia *Best Nordic Documentary, 2007

Nordisk Panorama Nordisk Panorama Film Festival is an annual film festival for Nordic short and documentary films, founded in 1990 and organized by Nordisk Panorama. From 1990 to 2012, the festival rotated between different cities in the five Nordic countries. S ...

– 5 Cities Film Festival

References

External links

* * *
USA vs. Al-Arian
*Norwegian Film Institute's English-languag

of the film. 2007 films 2007 documentary films Documentary films about terrorism Norwegian documentary films Documentary films about American politics Documentary films about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2000s American films {{Norway-film-stub