Persian Gulf, 1971

British troops had been withdrawn from the Persian-Arabian Gulf, yet Canadian, Australian and English mercenaries stayed on to help build up the local armies. They were later followed by technicians, development- aiders and other experts who offered their services to the new rulers. Actually, they were there to protect British and Western interests in the Gulf. These bearers of foreign values, representatives of Western development models and gravediggers of indigenous cultures were mercenaries in the widest sense of the term. The film shows how so-called decolonization only reinforced the influence of the former colonial powers with the help of this new army of “mercenaries”.

a film by Gordian Troeller and Marie-Claude Deffarge
original title: Das Zeitalter der Söldner
camera: Gordian Troeller
colour
20 minutes

The film is lost. If anyone knows the whereabouts of a print we would be grateful if they could contact us.