The Project

Spotlight

World Premiere

USA | 90 MINUTES | English | English subtitles

THE PROJECT

Documentary
The scourge of Somali piracy has been devastating the Middle East and North African shipping industries for nearly a decade. As a country with no functioning central government for over twenty years and no military training permitted under UN sanctions, Somalia has been largely powerless to curb the increasingly bold and violent actions of the pirates. Enter the Puntland Maritime Police Force, a secret paramilitary group of mercenary pirate hunters. Initially so undertrained and malnourished that members broke their own legs during marching exercises, the PMPF grows its numbers and hones its tactics under the watchful eye of former U.S. Army Special Forces operative Roger Carstens. It ultimately faces mutiny, death and political infighting in a dangerous quest to pull off the impossible: waging an epic battle on the high seas to rescue dozens of innocent hostages.

Featuring interviews with controversial Blackwater founder Erik Prince and the UN’s arms embargo monitor Matt Bryden, along with shocking firsthand footage from filmmakers embedded within the PMPF, The Project is a gripping, real-life war thriller exposing an unknown, anything-goes battle for control of the seas in one of the most dangerous places on earth.

—Cara Cusumano

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Shawn Efran and Adam Ciralsky

SHAWN EFRAN and ADAM CIRALSKY have received multiple Emmy Awards and nominations, Peabody Awards and other commendations ranked among journalism’s highest honors for their work as a producers and writers for CBS 60 Minutes and other media outlets. They make their feature directorial debuts with The Project.
Director
Shawn Efran, Adam Ciralsky
Screenwriter
Shawn Efran, Adam Ciralsky
Producer
Adam Ciralsky, Shawn Efran
Editor
Alyse Ardell Spiegel
Associate Producer
Adam Loeb
Cinematographer
Ian Robbie
Executive Producer
Adam Ciralsky & Shawn Efran
Composer
John Forté
Co-Producer
John Forté, Roger Carstens
Music Supervisor
John Forté
Cast
Roger Carstens, Erik Prince, Lafras Luitingh, Rudolph van Heerden, Michael Shanklin, Matthew Bryden

CONTACTS

US Sales Contact
Linda Lichter
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Phone: 310 205 6999
llichter@lgna.com
Print Source
Shawn Efran
Efran Films
New York, 10001
Phone: 212 510 8963
sefran@me.com
Press Contact
Omar Gonzales
PMKBNC
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212.373.0116
omar.gonzales@pmkbnc.com