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Shadow Company
In the late 20th Century the distinction between soldier and mercenary became blurred. The recent use of private military companies (PMC) in Iraq has been more extensive (and more high profile) than at any time in modern history. The issues raised by the brutal killing of four PMC staff in Fallujah in April 2004 and the subsequent reaction of the general public and the US Army make it clear that these "contractors" are not merely workers in a foreign land.
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Nick Bicanic, Director, Shadow Company
"In 2004 I watched 4 gruesome charred bodies hanging from a bridge in Fallujah and assumed--like many others--that these were soldiers caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. After discovering these men were in fact 'private security contractors', I became determined to in find out everything I could about this previously secretive world of military contracts and contractors." MoreWhat the Critics Say...
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
"Reaching both audiences may take some doing on the publicity side, but the potential exists for solid boxoffice in comparison to other current-events docs. Throughout the film manages to educate without being dry and to illustrate controversies without prejudice. For a subject that plays such a large part in America's foreign policy and is so little understood, 'Shadow Company' is an excellent and engaging primer." More
Tobias Peterson, PopMatters
"The charred and mutilated bodies of Blackwater private security contractors shown hanging from a bridge in Fallujah turned the spotlight on a group whose presence in Iraq had been previously unknown to a great many: mercenaries. Shadow Company, directed by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque, is a look into this, group of ex-soldiers and hired guns, who purposefully put themselves in harm's way. Not for the honorable clichés of God or country. But for lots and lots of good, old-fashioned cash." More
Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat
"There are an estimated 20,000 private soldiers on the ground in Iraq, more than the total number of combined non-US coalition ground forces, and one for roughly every ten American soldiers. 'Shadow Company' directors Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque attempt to find out where these guys come from, what exactly they do, and why they do it.' " More
John DeFore, Austin American Statesman
"(4/4 Stars) Given its ominous name and its politically loaded subject -- the history and present-day workings of private mercenary armies -- you'd expect "Shadow Company" to be a political screed, a fearmongering broadsheet about the world falling to pieces because of you-know-who's war. Not so. While this documentary is quite explicit about the drawbacks of having soldiers in war zones who are unaccountable to any government (and there are plenty) it is also sympathetic to "private military contractors" who are guided by their own codes of ethics and who on camera are often intelligent, thoughtful people instead of big slabs of amoral testosterone." More
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Learn more about what happens when we privatize warfare.
- Shadow Company Website
The official Shadow Company website. Buy the DVD. Learn how to host a screening.
- Fareed Zakaria discusses Shadow Company
October 17, 2006 - Foreign Exchange examines the world of Private Military Companies on Foreign Exchange (Quicktime)
- Interview, Nick Bacanic
October 3, 2006 - Priya Ramu interviews Nick Bicanic on CBC Radio. (mp3)
- Nick Bicanic Profile
Pitch Page profiles Nick Bicanic and Shadow Company (Streaming Video)
- Vancouver Province
October 2, 2006 - Stuart Derdeyn talks to Nick Bicanic about Shadow Company in the Vancouver Province.
- CBC's "The Hour" - Shadow Company
Interview with Nick Bicanic, director of the acclaimed documentary "Shadow Company" on CBC's popular show "The Hour with George Strombolopoulos". (video)
- CBC's "The Hour" - Alan Bell Interview
Alan Bell is the president of Globe Risk Holdings, an international security consulting firm. Interview on CBC's popular show "The Hour with George Strombolopoulos". (video)
- The Globe Risk Holdings Group
Website of a security firm featured in Shadow Company.
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'Darfur Now' is a story of hope in the midst of one of humanity's darkest hours - a call to action for people everywhere to end the catastrophe unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. In this documentary, the struggles and achievements of six different individuals from inside Darfur and around the world bring to light the tragedy in Sudan and show how the actions of one person can make a difference to millions.
Watch Excerpt (6:12)
Watch Interview with Don Cheadle
Watch Darfur Now PSA
'Angels in the Dust' is the story of a courageous, self-sacrificing, fiercely loving woman who chooses a spiritual path over a material one; it tells of the life-changing power of one compassionate heart. For a nation overwhelmed by an epidemic of HIV/AIDS, orphans, rape, violence, and Apartheid's legacy of social and political unrest, the film offers a clear pathway of hope and a replicable paradigm for the future.
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On his first weekend back after serving in Iraq, Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) goes missing and is reported AWOL. When Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), a former military MP and his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) get the phone call with the disturbing news, Hank sets out to search for their son. Local police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) reluctantly helps him in his search and soon finds herself in a fight with the military brass. When the truth about Mike's time in Iraq finally begins to emerge, Hank's entire world is challenged and he's forced to reevaluate long-held beliefs to solve the mystery behind his son's disappearance.
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"I can still hear him hollering and coaching.."
-- William Haley (L) and his brother Glen remember their father, Joseph Howard Haley, founder of Jackie Robinson West Little League in Chicago. More
'Fears of Your Life', by Michael Bernard Loggins, read by Tom Wright
What are you afraid of? Michael's afraid of exactly 183 things. He counted. More
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James Ashcroft, Private Military Contractor
"I spent the whole drive back trying to open up a pack of Skittles with one hand, holding my weapon in the other. Doesn't tell you how to do that in the Tom Clancy books does it?"
Robert Young Pelton, Author, The World's Most Dangerous Places
"When you're driving from the airport to the green zone, you don't give a s--t about hearts and minds, you just care about staying alive."
Cobus Claassens, Private Military Contractor
"I really like the comraderie among everyone, the black dudes, the white dudes, the hilarity and funniness of serving together under extreme conditions and surviving and then relaxing with your buddies and a couple cases of beer."
Nick Bicanic, Director, Shadow Company
"A close friend of mine from university (James Ashcroft) graduated from law school and after a number of years in the British Army announced that he was thinking of becoming a 'mercenary.' Initially I thought he was kidding - because when I heard 'mercenary' I imagined stereotyped "hollywood" visions of men with knives in their teeth overthrowing foreign governments - but I soon learned that he was one of many in the very large industry of private security..." More from the Shadow Company Blog
Madeline Drohan, Journalist
"It didn't work in Sierra Leone, it didn't work in Papau New Guinea, so let's try it in Iraq. It's failing upwards."
Robert Young Pelton
"Colin Powell calls it a coalition of the willing. I call it a coalition of the billing."