Director Michelle Shephard (GUANTANAMO’S CHILD: OMAR KHADR, CIFF 2015) met Ismael Abdulle in Mogadishu in 2010 while she was covering the Somali civil war. His hand and foot had been cut off by the terrorist group al-Shabab. The articles she wrote about him generated a movement within the worldwide Somali community, helping him escape certain death.

THE PERFECT STORY offers a riveting and intimate look at the ethical and moral challenges sparked by the relationship between journalist and subject. By examining the boundaries of modern journalism and filmmaking, this provocative film questions how stories are chosen and the lens through which they are told.