Stolen Seas (2013)

• 75%
• 2013
• Documentary
• Thymaya Payne

Stolen Seas presents a chilling exploration of the Somali pirate phenomenon and forces you to rethink everything you thought you knew about pirates. It's November 8th, 2008 and the CEC Future, a Danish-owned merchant ship, is on high alert. Sailing inside the pirate-infested swath of sea between Somalia and Yemen, the ship's captain blinks hard at the radar screen where a light begins to flash. This is it, Nozhkin thinks, and he's right. Machine guns sound on the boat's hull and for two months this 13-man crew will be held at the mercy of Somali pirates, helpless as hostage negotiations threaten their lives and cameras capture every move. The pirates' translator, Ishmael Ali, a single dad who may or may not have stumbled into this controversial role, puts in a call to the shipping magnate's CEO Per Gullestrup demanding an exorbitant 7 million dollars. The shipowner's response is the first of many misfires and communications to come. These two adversaries will have to become unlikely allies as they race against time in an attempt to keep the crew from being killed by their violent captors. Stolen Seas documents the story of 13 powerless men trapped on a ship, and why their captors feel justified in their tyranny. It's the story of a Somali translator who get's in over his head -trying to give his son a chance. With first hand accounts from leading experts on the subject refuting the common misconceptions, Stolen Seas explores theories of what drives a country to piracy, from every point of view. It is a film about a country on the brink, at the mercy of global capitalism in overdrive, and young boys with nothing to loose.