Gianna Toboni’s feature-length documentary Guantanamo: Blacked Out Bay offers a unique and rarely seen perspective into the notorious Guantanamo Bay Detention Center (GTMO) in Cuba. This high-security prison is infamous for imprisoning foreign nationals on tenuous grounds and subjecting them to harrowing conditions. With official permission, Vice News granted Toboni an exclusive tour inside GTMO to document their experiences.
Throughout the tour, viewers are privy to the many restrictive regulations imposed by the prison authorities in order to protect information from leaking out. From Camp X-Ray – where the first 20 inmates were housed in outdoor cells exposed to extreme heat – to force-feeding areas, Toboni captures a glimpse of life inside this eerie prison.
In order to gain more insight, Toboni also interviews two former detainees and a guard who have each experienced GTMO firsthand. Mustafa Ait Idir recounts his experience upon being transferred despite having been acquitted of all charges against him; Terry Holdbrooks shares his transition from prison guard to an anti-GTMO activist after witnessing violent and demeaning tactics used against prisoners. Despite diplomatic promises since 2009 that GTMO will be closed down soon, it remains open today without any certain end date in sight.
Providing viewers with both an informative tour and personal accounts, Guantanamo: Blacked Out Bay is essential viewing for anyone curious about life inside this contentious detention center. Through her docuementary, Gianna Toboni reveals a side of this notorious prison that remains untold and unseen by many – making her work truly special not only as an informative source but also as a powerful visual representation of what transpires within its walls.
