A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Featuring:
Turki Al-Faisal, Madawi Al-Rasheed, Tim Barger
Written by:
Dirk K. van den Berg
Directed by:
Dirk K. van den Berg
Release Date:
June 1, 2018
Original Title:
The Siege of Mecca
Alternate Titles:
Le siège de la Mecque
Mekka 1979 - Urknall des Terrors?
Genres:
Documentary
Production Companies:
K2 Productions
OutreMer Film
Production Countries:
Austria | France | Germany | Switzerland | United States of America
Ratings / Certifications:
DE: 12 FR: 12
Runtime: 52
On November 20, 1979 at 5:30 in the morning, hundreds of armed men take over the Grand Mosque of Mecca, transforming the holiest shrine of Islam into a fortress and a trap for almost 100,000 pilgrims inside. This was the beginning of the siege of Mecca…
On November 20th 1979, at 05:30 in the morning, hundreds of heavily armed men take over the Grand Mosque of Mecca and transform the holiest shrine of Islam into a fortress. The insurgents demand the abdication of the Saudi Royal Family, the expulsion of all foreigners, the withdrawal of all progressive development and the Kingdom's return to the pure and radical Islam of the first generations. The following 15 days of occupation, siege and battle were kept under a veil of complete secrecy. They will cost hundreds if not thousands of lives, shake Saudi Arabia to its foundations, push the global balance of power to the brink of collapse, and mark the beginning of religiously motivated terrorism. With this political thriller documentary, director Dirk van den Berg and his international team finally reveal the links between the Siege of Mecca and our contemporary time. After 5 years of research and filming in 8 countries, they obtained exclusive access to first-hand accounts and never-before-seen private archives from Arab, French and American military, intelligence and civilian sources. With this film, they debunk the simplistic equations of "good" and "evil", "us" and "them", and reveal the intricate historic, political and religious links between the 1979 SIEGE OF MECCA and the birth of the violent strain of militant Islamism that ever since holds the world firmly in its grip.
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Associate Producer:
Tareq Aldakhilallah
Anne Gènevaux
Color Grading:
Christophe Gauthier
Director:
Dirk van den Berg
Post Producer:
Isabelle Zaborowski
Producer:
Pascal Verroust
Dirk van den Berg
Production Director:
Nico Di Biase
Sound Editor:
Delphine Thelliez
Writer:
Dirk van den Berg
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