British filmmaker Mark Henderson was one of eight backpackers kidnapped by Marxist guerrillas while trekking in the Columbian mountains in 2003. Never knowing if he was going to be killed, he was finally released after 101 days of captivity. Then 11 months later, he received a very strange and unexpected e-mail from one of his former kidnappers, Antonio. After fleeing Colombia, Antonio was on the run and looking for Henderson’s help. In My Kidnapper, airing on THE PASSIONATE EYE, Sunday, Feb. 14, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, on CBC News Network, Henderson and three of his fellow hostages take an emotional journey back to the jungles of Columbia to confront their kidnappers.
Henderson’s decision to respond to these e-mails set in motion an unlikely relationship between kidnapper and hostage. Online, they shared everything from Columbian movie recommendations to MP3s of British music. Henderson even received an invitation to his former kidnappers’ wedding (which he declined). In another strange twist, Antonio’s fiancée, also one of the kidnappers, contacted another former hostage and asked her to become a Facebook friend. But on the subject of the actual kidnapping, the Colombian remained extremely guarded. After years of planning, the filmmaker organized a clandestine meeting in South America to confront his kidnappers and hopefully close this chapter of his life.
My Kidnapper is an emotional and cathartic journey exploring the inexplicable bond hostages can have with their captors, the extreme challenges of surviving a kidnapping, and the need for forgiveness. Produced and directed by Mark Henderson and Kate Home. My Kidnapper is produced by Renegade Pictures in association with ARTE France and CBC News Network.
