The Oath
The Oath is a story about family, taxis, al Qaeda, Guantanamo Bay, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Awards & Recognition
Winner
2010 Sundance Film Festival - Excellence in Cinematography Award for Kirsten Johnson and Laura Poitras
Winner
2010 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Humanitas Award
Nominee
2011 News and Documentary Emmy Awards - Outstanding Investigative Journalism
Nominee
2011 News and Documentary Emmy Awards - Best Documentary
The Oath is the story of Abu Jandal, Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard, and Salim Hamdan, a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay Prison and the first man to face the controversial military tribunals. Filmed in Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, The Oath is a family drama about two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a journey that would lead to Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The film begins as Salim Hamdan is set to face war crime charges at Guantanamo, and Abu Jandal is a free man and drives a taxi in Yemen.
We enter the story in a taxicab in Yemen. Here we meet Abu Jandal, the film’s central protagonist, as he transports passengers through the chaotic streets of Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a. Salim Hamdan is the film’s “ghost” protagonist. He was arrested in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and taken to Guantanamo. His seven-year captivity at Guantanamo is narrated through his prison letters.