kino21 film series HOW WE FIGHT Program 5: Mercenaries

free screening

SHADOW COMPANY (2007)
by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque.

This Canadian film examines the profession of the "private security contractor," - the most recent euphemism for the age-old profession of the mercenary. Nick Bicanic trained with Blackwater in order to make this film which follows some of the private security contractors in Iraq, where the use of private military companies (PMCs) is far more extensive than in any other war in modern history.  SHADOW COMPANY also explores other sites of contemporary conflict where mercenaries play a significant role and examines the history of the profession through interviews with war journalists, historians, ethicists, soldiers and mercenaries themselves.

Kino21 regrets that due to unforeseen circumstances concerning international screening rights, we are not able to screen Romuald Karmakar's WARHEADS for the fifth and final program in our HOW WE FIGHT series. Instead, we are substituting this free screening, which takes us back where we started the series: Iraq today.

"Fascinating, evenhanded documentary about the big business of guns for hire. Flourishes of style - comic-book illustrations, video-game scenes and news footage swirled together in an Oliver Stone-esque mélange - give a flavor of the personalities involved while academics and security experts fill in the historical and political context." - LA Weekly