Shadow Company (2006)

Directors:

Nick Bicanic
Jason Bourque

Writers:

Nick Bicanic (writer) &
Jason Bourque (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The Rules of War have changed.

Plot:

Thousands of private soldiers operate in Iraq alone... and many more around the world. These individuals...

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Gerard Butler	...	Narrator (voice)
Peter Singer	...	Himself - Interviewee

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company:

Purpose Films

behind the scenes for balance

Being a non-military globally conscientious girl (who oft would even name herself a pacifist), I would have to say that this documentary was one of the biggest eye openers for me in the last few years. All the stereotypes, even the limited ones I had, were explored, dissected and supported, contested and investigated in the way you expect an objective documentary to be. The voices, both supportive and opposing, both disturbing and considerate, historical and modern... all were incontestably honest and articulated in an engaging way. The format of the documentary is one the defies convention - I hesitated to use Terrentino's name because only the unexpected dynamics of the format can be compared to him: things are presented in a way that you don't expect and you are left with questions to ponder yourself rather than a bunch of answers that settle the issue for you. This is a documentary that empowers the audience and for some people this is an unexpected and thrilling OR scary concept.

I was asked to travel to Sierra Leone to do still photography for this project but other than that, I had no involvement of the story building process. I am amazed to see how each of the people they interviewed, and the facts they accumulated, have been presented in the final product in a way that is engaging and informative. No wonder Edward Zwyck was a fan of this doc - it's a rare example of what the documentary format can be used for.