Alexandra Johnes

My Trip to Al-Qaeda -- A documentary version of Lawrence Wright's off-Broadway one-man show about the roots of Islamic terrorism and the U.S.' misguided response to it.

Trailer for the HBO documentary My Trip to Al-Qaeda. A firsthand account of Wright s experience researching his 2006 book The Looming Tower: al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, My Trip to Al-Qaeda sheds important light on al-Qaeda, Islamic radicalism, hostility to America and the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East overall. The riveting travelogue/performance piece combines Wright s first-person narrative with documentary footage and photographs, while raising important questions about the war on terrorism, and questioning the U.S. stance as a role model as it engages in a war that erodes the country s reputation and resources. Lawrence Wright s work in the Middle East dates back to 1969, when he taught at American University in Cairo, where future 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta would study. However, the events of 9/11 intensified his focus on the causes and consequences of Islamic terrorism throughout the region, propelling him to write a book on the subject. Wright s acclaimed work spawned a theatrical piece that combined his journalistic insights, culled from 600 interviews and 4,100 pages of notes, with footage and photos of the places he had visited during his extensive research.

The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter -- A young boy with a distant father enters a world of make-believe and magic through a portal within an antique book.