In the suburbs of Houston, Texas, a group of concerned friends witnessed the radicalization of their friend, who would go on to travel to Syria to join ISIS in 2018. In January, young teacher Warren Christopher Clark was captured by U.S.-backed forces in Syria during the campaign to liberate the last areas occupied by the terror group. These Birds Walk and 11/8/16 filmmaker Bassam Tariq made Ghosts of Sugar Land before his capture, and created a haunting portrait of a young man through his friends. Watch the Ghosts of Sugar Land trailer below.

Ghosts of Sugar Land Trailer

Ghosts of Sugar Land follows group of suburban Muslims as they try to reconcile the disappearance of their close friend who had been radicalized by ISIS. As they ponder what they could have done differently, director Bassam Tariq pieces together the life of the nameless friend — made more mysterious by the pop culture-themed masks that the friends wear. It’s not revealed in the trailer who that radicalized friend, referred to anonymously as “Mark,” as the documentary was made before Clark’s capture. The film focuses mostly on the recollections of his friends, supplemented by pictures and snapshots with the identities obscured.

Ghosts of Sugar Land won the short film jury award for nonfiction at Sundance, where it was snapped up by Netflix. Directed by Bassam Tariq (These Birds Walk), Ghosts of Sugar Land was produced by filmmaker Farihah Zaman (Remote Area Medical) in association with Laura Poitras and Charlotte Cook’s Field of Vision.

Here is the synopsis for Ghosts of Sugarland:

Ghosts of Sugar Land follows a group of Muslim Americans in the suburbs of Houston, Texas as they trace the disappearance of ‘Mark,’ a friend who is suspected of joining ISIS. A social misfit throughout his teens, ‘Mark’ converted to Islam before entering college. But his beliefs took an increasingly worrisome turn when he began alienating his friends and leaving cryptic notes on social media before he disappeared altogether. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for Nonfiction at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Ghosts of Sugar Land stirringly traces the guilt, fear, and sadness of these men as they try to piece together what happened to their friend.

Ghosts of Sugarland premieres on Netflix on October 16, 2019.

ghosts of sugarland poster

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