The Perfect Story
| The Perfect Story | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michelle Shephard |
| Written by | Michelle Shephard |
| Starring | Bryn Hughes Lea Marin Michelle Shephard |
| Cinematography | Wes Legge |
| Edited by | Nick Hector |
| Music by | Justin Small Ohad Benchetrit |
Production company | Frequent Flyer Films |
| Distributed by | National Film Board of Canada |
Release date |
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Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The Perfect Story is a 2022 Canadian documentary film directed by Michelle Shephard. The film revisits Shephard's 2010 news story about Ismael Abdulle, a young Somali man whose hand and foot were amputated by Al-Shabaab militants. Her initial reportage sparked a campaign to get him transported to another country as a refugee. However, the documentary explores the ethical dilemmas Shephard faced when Abdulle later admitted he had lied about key details of the incident, revealing he was guilty of robbery as Al-Shabaab had claimed, in contrast to his previous claims that the amputation was punishment for refusing the join the group.