The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more
Skip to content Accessibility

Maintenance Operation
Our online services will be affected or interrupted for a few hours on Tuesday, April 22nd, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET.

Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd

This feature documentary recounts the incredible odyssey of 22 men from China’s persecuted Uyghur minority who were detained in Guantánamo as terrorists. These Turkic-speaking Muslims, persecuted by the authorities in Beijing, escaped to the Middle East where they were captured and sold as terrorists to the American forces. From northern China to Guantánamo, Cuba, this new documentary by Patricio Henríquez charts the incredible odyssey of three of these “prisoners of the absurd,” linked to worldwide terror networks through no fault of their own.
Your rental expires on
None
You've already purchased this film.
Download it from My purchases.

Details

This feature documentary recounts the incredible odyssey of 22 men from China’s persecuted Uyghur minority who were detained in Guantánamo as terrorists. These Turkic-speaking Muslims, persecuted by the authorities in Beijing, escaped to the Middle East where they were captured and sold as terrorists to the American forces. From northern China to Guantánamo, Cuba, this new documentary by Patricio Henríquez charts the incredible odyssey of three of these “prisoners of the absurd,” linked to worldwide terror networks through no fault of their own.

Foreign Countries Developing Countries War, Conflict and Peace All subjects
  • writer
    Patricio Henríquez
  • director
    Patricio Henríquez
  • producer
    Patricio Henríquez
    Colette Loumède
  • creative content producer
    Michelle Shephard
  • editor
    Andrea Henriquez
  • cinematography
    Sylvestre Guidi
    Patricio Henríquez
  • sound recording
    Karim Amin
    Luc Côté
  • research
    Michelle Shephard
    Françoise Guénette
    Luc Côté
    Patricio Henríquez
  • animation
    Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
    Brigitte Archambault
  • original music
    Robert Marcel Lepage
    Nicolas Borycki
  • musician
    Andrew Wells-Oberegger
    Marton Maderspach
    Robin Girard
    François Pilon
    Jean-Félix Mailloux
    Robert Marcel Lepage
    Nicolas Borycki
  • sound editing
    Claude Langlois
    Mélanie Gauthier
  • mix
    Richard Pelletier
  • additional cinematography
    Rénald Bellemare
    Alex Margineanu
  • assistant editor
    Nils Caneele
    Jenny Cartwright
  • music editing
    Nicolas Borycki
  • music recording
    Nicolas Borycki
  • music mix
    Nicolas Borycki
  • production assistant
    Adam Shermann
  • interpreter
    Rushan Abbas
  • translation
    Kayum Masimov
    Saif Fazel Ullah
  • revision of English texts
    Sylvie Dupuis
    Michelle Shephard
  • transcription
    Magenta Baribeau
    Sas Harris
  • archives research
    Jenny Cartwright
  • clearances
    Jenny Cartwright
  • video post-production
    Post-Moderne
  • coordinator
    Myriam Therrien
    Claude Bourgault
  • colour correction
    Julien Alix
  • online editing
    Guillaume Pelletier
  • on-line editing assistant
    Jessie-Lee Labonté
    Charles Tranquille
  • sound post-production
    Audio Zone Inc.
  • mix assistant
    Dominic Nudo
  • technical director
    Denis Boisvert
  • production manager
    Jenny Cartwright
  • administrator
    John Chretien
    Sia Koukoulas
  • marketing manager
    François Jacques
  • marketing manager - assistance
    Catherine Benoît
  • production coordinator
    Hélène Regimbal
  • administrative assistant
    Larissa Christoforo
  • technical coordinator
    Richard Cliche
    Mira Mailhot
  • line production
    Mélanie Lasnier
  • executive producer
    Colette Loumède

Education

Ages 17 to 18
School subjects
Civics/Citizenship - Human Rights Social Studies - Contemporary Issues Social Studies - Law

Ideal for essays, research projects and discussions on human rights, anti-terrorism policy and international law. Research the status of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility under successive U.S. administrations, and the legal status of the remaining detainees. Research why Canada refused to accept any Uyghur detainees. Compare the language of “terrorists” and “enemy combatants” to the debate around Syrian refugees, and compare the Canadian response to that crisis with the responses of European countries, the U.S. or other nations.

More educational content

Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd
Purchase options
Also available
DVD
Licence information
Already paid to see this film?
Licensing information
Rental licence detail

You may view this film for private or personal use only. Public screenings and institutional (non-educational institutions) use are not permitted.

Download-to-own (DTO) licence detail
Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

You may download this film for private, personal or classroom use only. Public screenings and institutional (non-educational institutions) uses are not permitted.

Download films in standard or high definition. (Please note that bonus materials are not available for DTO films.)

Institutional licence

To purchase an institutional licence or to buy a film that is not available for DTO or VOD on the platform, please contact us.

The institutional price includes the rights to screen the film in institutional settings and at free public screenings.

Additional instructions

DTO films cannot be hosted on a streaming server. To add DTO films to an institutional or educational streaming server, please contact a sales agent to discuss pricing.

You can copy each file up to 5 (five) times, onto various devices.

Explore