(T)error

February 2026 (T)error (T)ERROR poster.png Lyric R. CabralDavid Felix Sutcliffe Christopher St. John Khalifah Al-Akili and Saeed Torres Robert Miller 2015 10 7 84 minutes United States English (T)error – stylized as (T)ERROR – is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe. The film follows undercover FBI informant Saeed "Shariff" Torres as he engages in a sting operation targeting a Muslim man named Khalifah Ali Al-Akili as well as Tarik Shah.Extended interview with Khalifah al-Akili from Federal Prison; Says FBI Tried to Entrap Him (WEB EXCLUSIVE) https://www.democracynow.org/2015/4/20/listen_extended_interview_with_khalifa_al 22 December 2015 Democracy Now 20 April 2015 The film won the Special Jury Award for Breakout First Feature at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered.Chang Justin Here are the 2015 Sundance Film Fest winners http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/here-are-2015-sundance-film-fest-winners 22 December 2015 31 January 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150205083904/http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/here-are-2015-sundance-film-fest-winners 5 February 2015 live Pilgrim Sophie US filmmakers unveil FBI tactics to snare Muslims http://www.france24.com/en/20150424-usa-film-unveil-fbi-tactics-snare-muslims-informant-terror/ 26 April 2015 France 24 25 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150425155726/http://www.france24.com/en/20150424-usa-film-unveil-fbi-tactics-snare-muslims-informant-terror/ 2015-04-25 dead It is the first documentary to follow an active FBI case while in progress.Perez Rodrigo Hot Docs Review: FBI Informant Tale (T)error Is One Of The Most Riveting Documentaries Of The Year http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/hot-docs-review-fbi-informant-tale-t-error-is-one-of-the-most-riveting-documentaries-of-the-year-20150430 22 December 2015 The Playlist Indiewire 30 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151218230453/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/hot-docs-review-fbi-informant-tale-t-error-is-one-of-the-most-riveting-documentaries-of-the-year-20150430 2015-12-18 dead It is the first film for Cabral and the second for Sutcliffe.Moylan Brian Sundance 2015 review: (T)ERROR – is entrapment always this boring? https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/28/sundance-2015-review-terror-is-entrapment-always-this-boring 22 December 2015 The Guardian 28 January 2015 Sutcliffe said the film's intention was to show informants and their targets, and focus on the "decisions, tactics and objectives of counterterrorism cases."Moynihan Colin '(T)error' Focuses on Informant and Piques F.B.I.'s Interest https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/movies/-t-error-focuses-on-informant-and-piques-fbis-interest.html 22 December 2015 The New York Times 2 September 2015 The film aired on US television on the PBS series Independent Lens. The film was re-titled FBI Undercover when broadcast in the UK by the BBC as part of their Storyville TV series.Newall Sally Storyville: FBI Undercover, BBC4 - TV review: There is no perfect solution in these difficult times https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/storyville-fbi-undercover-bbc4-tv-review-there-is-no-perfect-solution-in-these-difficult-times-a6755016.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/storyville-fbi-undercover-bbc4-tv-review-there-is-no-perfect-solution-in-these-difficult-times-a6755016.html 2022-05-01 subscription live 22 December 2015 The Independent 30 November 2015 The story was also retold on This American Life.http://ThisAmericanLife.org/radio-archives/episode/566/transcript This American Life Episode 566: Act Two ("The Lyin' Kings") transcript This American Life 11 September 2015 February 22, 2016 Background Co-director Cabral was a student living in Harlem when her downstairs neighbor of four years, Saeed Torres, disappeared in May 2005. Cabral's investigation into his disappearance eventually became the subject of her film.Bramowitz Julie Sundance Doc (T)ERROR Blows the Lid Off FBI Informants http://www.vogue.com/9569595/terror-fbi-informants-documentary-sundance/ Vogue 4 February 2015 February 4, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150204075352/http://www.vogue.com/9569595/terror-fbi-informants-documentary-sundance/ dead Shortly before Torres' disappearance, Sutcliffe and Cabral met at an afterschool arts program, where one of their students, Adama Bah, a 16-year-old Muslim teenage girl was arrested by the FBI and accused of being a "potential" suicide bomber. Elation in Harlem as Girl Held in Terror Inquiry Is Released https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/nyregion/elation-in-harlem-as-girl-held-in-terror-inquiry-is-released.html The New York Times 2005-05-07 2015-11-04 0362-4331 Nina Bernstein Her arrest triggered a growing interest for both Cabral and Sutcliffe in the FBI's counterterrorism tactics, and an increasing awareness of the central role of informants in the majority of domestic terror plots. Reception Critical reception The film was received positively by critics. It received a 91% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews.https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terror_2015/ (T)ERROR Rotten Tomatoes 22 February 2016 It also received a score of 73 (generally favorable) on Metacritic, based on 12 reviews.http://www.metacritic.com/movie/terror (T)error Metacritic 20 December 2015 The consensus according to Rotten Tomatoes being "(T)ERROR should dishearten and disturb viewers concerned with the erosion of American civil rights – and it doesn't even hit its targets as hard as it could.". Writing for RogerEbert.com, film critic Brian Tallerico, who gave the documentary three and a half stars out of four, says that the film is a "fascinating piece of work that approaches CITIZENFOUR in its deconstruction of governmental failure and the systems underneath the war on terror that are not only failing to keep us safe but impacting the entire world political scene."(T)ERROR https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/terror-2015 22 December 2015 RogerEbert.com 7 October 2015 Awards and nominations Won The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences – Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary (2017)http://cdn.emmyonline.org/news_38th_winners_v02.pdf THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS AT THE 38th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS Cdn.emmyonline.org 15 March 2022 8 November 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211108054033/http://cdn.emmyonline.org/news_38th_winners_v02.pdf dead Sundance – Special Jury Prize for Breakout First Feature (2015) Full Frame Documentary Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize (2015) International Documentary Association – Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe won Emerging Filmmaker Award (2015) Nominated Independent Spirit Awards – Best Documentary (2015) Cinema Eye Honors – Spotlight Award (2015) References External links https://terrordocumentary.org/ 4370922 terror_2015 (T)error on Independent Lens Category:2015 documentary films Category:2015 films Category:American documentary films Category:Documentary films about law enforcement in the United States Category:Documentary films about terrorism Category:Sundance Film Festival award–winning films Category:Films set in Pittsburgh Category:2015 English-language films Category:2015 American films Category:English-language documentary films