438 Days

2h 4min

Drama

Thriller

History

On the eve of June 28th, 2011 Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson put everything at stake by illegally crossing the border from Somalia into Ethiopia. After months of research, planning and failed attempts, they were finally on their way to report on how the ruthless hunt for oil effected the population of the isolated and conflict-ridden Ogaden region. Five days later they lay wounded in the desert sand, shot and captured by the Ethiopian army. But when their initial reportage died, another story began. A story about lawlessness, propaganda and global politics. After a Kafkaesque trial they were sentenced to eleven years in prison for terrorism. And they were far from alone. Their cellmates were journalists, writers and politicians persecuted for not bowing down to dictatorship. Their reportage about oil was transformed into a story about ink, and their daily lives turned into a fight for survival inside the notorious Kality prison in Addis Ababa.

Production Companies

Film i Väst

SVT

Miso Film Sverige

Cast

Gustaf Skarsgård

Gustaf Skarsgård

Martin Schibbye
Matias Varela

Matias Varela

Johan Persson
Fredrik Evers

Fredrik Evers

Jens Odlander
Josefin Neldén

Josefin Neldén

Linnéa Schibbye
Philip Zandén

Philip Zandén

Carl Bildt
Faysal  Ahmed

Faysal Ahmed

Abdullahi Hussein
Jesper Ganslandt

Jesper Ganslandt

Fredrik Spik
Sidow Farah Abdi

Sidow Farah Abdi

ONLF representative
Lena B. Nilsson

Lena B. Nilsson

Karin Schibbye

Release date

30th Aug 2019

Status

Released

Spoken languages

English, svenska