Today, Prime Video released the official trailer for the Australian documentary The Defenders.
Produced by Sweetshop & Green, The Defenders is an incredible, nail-biting, race-against-time thriller which tells the gripping true story of Hakeem al-Araibi, a Bahraini footballer turned political refugee. In 2018 when Hakeem stepped off a plane in Thailand to begin his honeymoon he found himself surrounded by police with an Interpol arrest order accusing him of terrorist activity. As Hakeem awaited extradition back to Bahrain, a rag-tag group of campaigners led by former Socceroos captain Craig Foster took action. The team of human rights activists, social media warriors, and ordinary Australians launched a campaign to #SaveHakeem. This is the true story of how a group of ordinary people battled against the odds to rescue a player’s life and try to save the very soul of football itself.
The Defenders is a Sweetshop & Green production supported by Prime Video. Produced by Gal Greenspan and Alice Burgin, executive producer Sharlene George, and directed by Matthew Bate. Funding was provided by Screen Australia, VicScreen and South Australia Film Commission, with international sales managed by Autlook Film Sales.
The feature length documentary will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on June 15, ahead of its release on Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand on Friday June 23, 2023.
