A Tortured Guantánamo Detainee Fights for Freedom in ‘The Mauritanian’ Trailer

Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tahar Rahim star in the new trailer for The Mauritanian, which is based on the true story of Guantánamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi. The film is set to arrive on February 19th, 2021.

Rahim stars as Slahi, who spent 14 years in Guantánamo, suspected of being connected to the September 11th attacks, although never charged (Slahi is from Mauritania, a country in Northwest Africa, which is where the film gets its title). While detained, Slahi was subjected to extensive torture and extreme interrogation techniques, which he recounted in his 2015 memoir, Guantánamo Diary, upon which the film is based.

The Mauritanian specifically focuses on the U.S. government’s attempt to build a case against Slahi, and the defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Foster) who chooses to represent him. Shailene Woodley plays Hollander’s associate, Teri Duncan, while Cumberbatch plays Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch, the military prosecutor who grows increasingly dubious of the case and concerned that there’s a larger conspiracy at play.

The Mauritanian was directed by Kevin Macdonald, whose last film was the 2018 Whitney Houston documentary, Whitney. M.B. Traven, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani wrote the script, while the film will also star Zachary Levi and Saamer Usmani.