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United Red Army (The Young Man Was, Part I)

Naeem Mohaiemen
| Bangladesh, USA, Japan
| 2012
| 70 min

This innovative documentary is a master class in suspense, built on the incredible real life recordings of a hostage negotiation. In 1977, flight JAL472 was hijacked by the Japanese Red Army and landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Filmmaker Naeem Mohaiemen was a boy at the time watching the events unfolds live on his television. Largely using the simple device of text on screen, Mohaiemen manages to convey a gripping and tense narrative. As the disembodied voices let us into the most classified of conversations an uneasy relationship develops between hijacker and military commander, bridging a gulf between them of culture, language and some crackly airwaves.

Director
Naeem Mohaiemen
Producer
Naeem Mohaiemen
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Section
International Competition
Festival Year
2012