Showtime Documentary Films is teaming with Oscar winner Alex Gibney for a new documentary called “American Jihad,” Showtime announced on Tuesday.
The film, directed Alison Ellwood and produced by Sarah Dowland, will offer an inside look at jihadism from former jihadists and those deeply affected by its practices. By analyzing the strategic outreach and specifically online tactics that terrorists employ in order to reach susceptible members of society, experts weigh in on what actions those in power can take to help prevent the phenomenon of domestic Jihadism from occurring.
The documentary also explores the impact of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen identified by the CIA as an al-Qaeda leader whose charismatic, highly personal recruitment tactics were responsible for influencing other Americans to the Jihadist cause.
As the first American-born terrorist targeted and killed by a U.S. drone strike overseas, his death held worldwide political implications and invigorated the momentum of U.S. radicalism.
Gibney will executive produce along with Stacey Offman of Jigsaw Productions, 60 Minutes’ Michael Radutzky and Jeff Fager, and Film 45’s Matt Goldberg, Brandon Carroll and John Logan Pierson. Richard Perello serves as co-executive producer.
“American Jihad” was inspired by the critically-acclaimed feature film “Patriots Day,” directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg that centers on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
It will premiere on Showtime on March 11 on-air, online and On Demand, and will serve as the closing night film at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in late February.