The documentary LAST HIJACK, which had its world premiere at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival and its North American premiere at the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, will be released in theaters and on VOD this summer by FilmBuff.  Directed by Tommy Pallotta (producer of “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly”) and Femke Wolting, the film combines animation and documentary filmmaking to portray the powerful story of a Somali pirate as he hijacks ships off the coast of Africa while also struggling to become the father figure that his family needs.

LAST HIJACK takes an innovative hybrid approach to explore how one Somali pirate –Mohamed — came to live such a brutal and dangerous existence. Animated re-enactments exploring Mohamed’s memories, dreams and fears from his point of view are juxtaposed with raw footage from his everyday life in an original non-fiction narrative. Mohamed is one of Somalia’s most experienced pirates. But in his homeland, a failed state, Mohamed is just another middle-aged man trying to make ends meet. He must decide whether to risk everything for one last hijack.

“Mohamed’s is a journey that needed to be told,” directors Pallotta and Wolting said in a joint statement. “We always wanted to tell the story of piracy from the Somali perspective while also highlighting the realities of survival in a failed state. FilmBuff’s expertise and enthusiasm in the digital space makes them the ideal partner to bring this film to audiences everywhere and expose them to the little known truths behind piracy in the headlines.”