The Pirates of Somalia (film)

The Pirates of Somalia (or simply Pirates of Somalia in the UK) is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Bryan Buckley and based on the 2011 book. The film stars Evan Peters, Al Pacino, Melanie Griffith and Barkhad Abdi. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2017, and was released on December 8, 2017, by Echo Bridge.

The Pirates of Somalia
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bryan Buckley
Screenplay by	Bryan Buckley
Produced by	Claude Dal Farra Irfaan Fredericks Mino Jarjoura Matt Lefebvre
Starring	Evan Peters Barkhad Abdi Melanie Griffith Al Pacino
Cinematography	Scott Henriksen
Edited by	Jay Nelson
Music by	Andrew Feltenstein John Nau
Production companies	Hungry Man Productions BCDF Pictures Kalahari Pictures
Distributed by	Echo Bridge
Release dates	April 27, 2017 (2017-04-27) (Tribeca Film Festival) December 8, 2017 (2017-12-08) (United States)
Running time	118 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

After his graduation from the University of Toronto, journalist Jay Bahadur in vain tries to gain a foothold in the profession. Still living with his parents, he stays afloat with unsatisfactory activity as a questioner for product placing in supermarkets. His chance comes when his journalistic idol Seymour Tolbin inspires him to realize his dream of journalism, not in a conventional way through a post-graduate university education, but through an exciting mission to investigate the backgrounds of piracy in Somalia.

Bahadur secures support from local people and flies to the civil-war-torn country. Through his translator Abdi, Jay manages to establish contacts with the local Somali pirates and interview them. He becomes increasingly interested in studying an organization of Somali pirates. To fulfill this dream, Bahadur continues his investigation, eventually carried along by the maelstrom of events.^{[clarification needed]}

Cast

• Evan Peters as Jay Bahadur^[2]
• Al Pacino as Seymour Tolbin^[3]
• Melanie Griffith as Maria Bahadur^[3]
• Barkhad Abdi as Abdi^[3]
• Aidan Whytock as Agent Brice
• Kiana Madani as Tracy Ziconni
• Philip Ettinger as Alex
• Darron Meyer as Mitch Kelp
• Russell Posner as Jared Bahadur
• Armaan Haggio as Mohamad Farole Jr.
• Jojo Gonzalez as Jojo
• Maria Vos as Avril Benoît
• Sabrina Hassan as Maryan
• Mohamed Barre as Boyah
• Abdi Sidow Farah as Colonel Omar

Production

On October 20, 2015, it was announced that Bryan Buckley would direct the film, with Evan Peters joining the cast.^[2] On February 11, 2016, Al Pacino, Melanie Griffith and Barkhad Abdi joined the cast.^[3] Principal photography began in February 2016, and ended on April 24, 2016.^[3][4]

Release and reception

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2017.^[5] Shortly after, Echo Bridge acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and set it for a December 8, 2017, release.^[6]

The film received generally mixed reviews. It currently holds a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,^[7] and a 54% rating on Metacritic.^[8]