First Teaser for Somali Pirate Drama and Sundance Hit 'Fishing without Nets'

One of the true joys of the Sundance Film Festival is discovering new talent and taking in movies you know little about. Walking into Cutter Hodierne's feature directorial debut, Fishing without Nets, all I knew was that it had been at the festival previously as an award-winning short, and that it dealt in some way with Somali pirates. After Captain Phillips and A Hijacking, my tolerance for a third film on the subject was pretty low, but Fishing without Nets not only tackle the story from a new angle, it's arguably the best film of the three.

The first teaser trailer for the film has been released, giving you a glimpse at the film which earned Hodierne the Best Director award for Drama at the festival. Using non-actors and shot entirely in Africa, it stars Abdikani Muktar as a Somali fisherman who has seen his chosen industry destroyed. With no money and his family sent away to Libya, Abdi is forced out of desperation to join a pirate band's attack on a shipping vessel.

Hodierne really captures the hopelessness that would drive the Somalis to such acts, but also makes sure this is an entertaining film with tons of thrills. I sang its praises in my review, comparing Hodierne's work to that of the Coen Brothers and saying he expertly expands on a world we think we know. Fishing without Nets has yet to gain distribution but that is likely to change soon. Check out the trailer below, then listen in to my interview with Hodierne and Muktar.[TheFilmStage]