Some interviews take longer to get than others.
For Michelle Shephard, booking an interview with Omar Khadr took 13 years.
Shephard, a reporter at the Toronto Star, was at the Globe Theatre Friday night, unveiling Guantanamo’s Child, which she co-directed with Patrick Reed, an up-close-and-personal documentary about Omar Khadr, the Canadian who was sent to Guantanamo Bay as a teenager.
Not only does the film feature the first interview with Khadr, but Khadr himself, along with his lawyer (and co-star throughout Guantanamo’s Child) Dennis Edney and his wife Patricia joined Shephard and producer Peter Raymont at Friday night’s screening.
“In 2002, I started covering the Omar Khadr story,” she said, in an interview with the Herald prior to the screening, “because it was fascinating, because (it was the story of) a 15-year-old Canadian at the centre of a huge international drama.
“I had no idea,” she said, “that drama would take me 13 years to tell, but thankfully I think it’s at its end.”
Guantanamo’s Child features the first interview done with Khadr since he was captured as a 15-year-old in Afghanistan in 2002.
“He’s incredibly articulate and serene,” said Shephard, “and seemingly quite well-adjusted.
“I’ve watched him over the years,” she said, “during the time he was at Guantanamo Bay, when the Pentagon didn’t allow any interviews – and once he came to Canada, we had to fight for two and a half more years to get access to him, because the Canadian government stopped us from doing interviews (with him).”
In the film, Khadr, now 28, opens up about how the experience of being seriously wounded, and incarcerated as a boy for over a decade impacted him.
“It was really rewarding,” said Shephard, “to finally be able to sit down with him and ask the question, that I’d wanted to ask – and some of his answers surprised me. I felt he was frank, and he answered some questions in ways I didn’t expect – so we felt we were getting something genuine from him.”
Omar Khadr is welcomed up from the audience for our GUANTANAMO'S CHILD pic.twitter.com/10LTKV13ZJ
— Calgary Film Fest (@calgaryfilm) September 26, 2015
Khadr took part in a 20 minute long question and answer session following the film, which included prolonged standing ovations for the Edneys and for Khadr.
"I didn't allow pain to resonate with me, I didn't let it stay with me. We all go through things, we have to feel for people" – Omar Khadr
— Calgary Film Fest (@calgaryfilm) September 26, 2015
"The kindness I've felt from people, the welcome has been so warm and that is my biggest surprise" – Omar Khadr
— Calgary Film Fest (@calgaryfilm) September 26, 2015
Even more startling than Khadr’s seeming lack of bitterness over his treatment during his incarceration were other characters in Guantanamo’s Child who found themselves involved in the Khadr story, such as one young 22-year-old American who got shipped to Bagram, Afghanistan, where he became the lead interrogator of 15-year-old Canadian Omar Khadr.
“He did some horrendous things during interrogations,” said Shephard, “but he (also) said, when he saw Omar Khadr in custody, when he was grievously wounded and interrogated as a 15-year-old, (that) it was the first time he started to question his mission when he was there.”
Calgary International Film Festival through October 4
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