# (T)error
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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Infobox film
| name = (T)error
| image = (T)ERROR poster.png
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Lyric R. Cabral
David Felix Sutcliffe
| producer = Christopher St. John
| writer =
| screenplay =
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = Khalifah Al-Akili and Saeed Torres
| narrator =
| music = [Robert Miller](/source/Robert_Miller_(composer))
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|2015|10|7}}
| runtime = 84 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
'''''(T)error''''' – stylized as '''''(T)ERROR''''' – is a 2015 American [documentary film](/source/documentary_film) directed by Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe. The film follows undercover [FBI](/source/FBI) [informant](/source/informant) Saeed "Shariff" Torres as he engages in a [sting operation](/source/sting_operation) targeting a [Muslim](/source/Muslim) man named Khalifah Ali Al-Akili as well as [Tarik Shah](/source/Tarik_Shah).[{{cite news|title=Extended interview with Khalifah al-Akili from Federal Prison; Says FBI Tried to Entrap Him (WEB EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2015/4/20/listen_extended_interview_with_khalifa_al|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=[Democracy Now](/source/Democracy_Now)|date=20 April 2015}}] The film won the Special Jury Award for Breakout First Feature at the [2015 Sundance Film Festival](/source/2015_Sundance_Film_Festival), where it premiered.[{{cite news|last1=Chang |first1=Justin |title=Here are the 2015 Sundance Film Fest winners |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/here-are-2015-sundance-film-fest-winners |accessdate=22 December 2015 |date=31 January 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205083904/http://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/here-are-2015-sundance-film-fest-winners |archivedate=5 February 2015 |url-status=live }}][{{cite news|last1=Pilgrim|first1=Sophie|title=US filmmakers unveil FBI tactics to snare Muslims|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20150424-usa-film-unveil-fbi-tactics-snare-muslims-informant-terror/|accessdate=26 April 2015|work=[France 24](/source/France_24)|date=25 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425155726/http://www.france24.com/en/20150424-usa-film-unveil-fbi-tactics-snare-muslims-informant-terror/|archive-date=2015-04-25|url-status=dead}}]
It is the first documentary to follow an active FBI case while in progress.[{{cite news|last1=Perez|first1=Rodrigo|title=Hot Docs Review: FBI Informant Tale ''(T)error'' Is One Of The Most Riveting Documentaries Of The Year|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/hot-docs-review-fbi-informant-tale-t-error-is-one-of-the-most-riveting-documentaries-of-the-year-20150430|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=The Playlist|agency=[Indiewire](/source/Indiewire)|date=30 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218230453/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/hot-docs-review-fbi-informant-tale-t-error-is-one-of-the-most-riveting-documentaries-of-the-year-20150430|archive-date=2015-12-18|url-status=dead}}] It is the first film for Cabral and the second for Sutcliffe.[{{cite news|last1=Moylan|first1=Brian|title=Sundance 2015 review: ''(T)ERROR'' – is entrapment always this boring?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/28/sundance-2015-review-terror-is-entrapment-always-this-boring|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|date=28 January 2015}}] Sutcliffe said the film's intention was to show informants and their targets, and focus on the "decisions, tactics and objectives of [counterterrorism](/source/counterterrorism) cases."[{{cite news|last1=Moynihan|first1=Colin|title='(T)error' Focuses on Informant and Piques F.B.I.'s Interest|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/movies/-t-error-focuses-on-informant-and-piques-fbis-interest.html|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=2 September 2015}}]
The film aired on US television on the [PBS](/source/PBS) series ''[Independent Lens](/source/Independent_Lens)''. The film was re-titled '''''FBI Undercover''''' when broadcast in the UK by the [BBC](/source/BBC_TV) as part of their [''Storyville''](/source/Storyville_(TV_series)) TV series.[{{cite news|last1=Newall|first1=Sally|title=Storyville: FBI Undercover, BBC4 - TV review: There is no perfect solution in these difficult times|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/storyville-fbi-undercover-bbc4-tv-review-there-is-no-perfect-solution-in-these-difficult-times-a6755016.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/storyville-fbi-undercover-bbc4-tv-review-there-is-no-perfect-solution-in-these-difficult-times-a6755016.html |archive-date=2022-05-01 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)|date=30 November 2015}}{{cbignore}}]
The story was also retold on ''[This American Life](/source/This_American_Life)''.[{{cite web|url=http://ThisAmericanLife.org/radio-archives/episode/566/transcript|title=This American Life Episode 566: Act Two ("The Lyin' Kings") transcript|work=This American Life|date=11 September 2015 |accessdate=February 22, 2016}}]
==Background==
Co-director Cabral was a student living in [Harlem](/source/Harlem) when her downstairs neighbor of four years, Saeed Torres, disappeared in May 2005. Cabral's investigation into his disappearance eventually became the subject of her film.[{{cite web|last1=Bramowitz|first1=Julie|title=Sundance Doc (T)ERROR Blows the Lid Off FBI Informants|url=http://www.vogue.com/9569595/terror-fbi-informants-documentary-sundance/|website=[Vogue](/source/Vogue_(magazine))|accessdate=4 February 2015}}] Shortly before Torres' disappearance, Sutcliffe and Cabral met at an [afterschool arts program](/source/After-school_activity), where one of their students, Adama Bah, a 16-year-old Muslim teenage girl was arrested by the FBI and accused of being a "potential" [suicide bomber](/source/suicide_bomber).[{{Cite news|title = Elation in Harlem as Girl Held in Terror Inquiry Is Released|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/07/nyregion/elation-in-harlem-as-girl-held-in-terror-inquiry-is-released.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 2005-05-07|access-date = 2015-11-04|issn = 0362-4331|first = Nina|last = Bernstein}}] Her arrest triggered a growing interest for both Cabral and Sutcliffe in the FBI's counterterrorism tactics, and an increasing awareness of the central role of [informants](/source/informants) in the majority of [domestic terror plots](/source/Domestic_terrorism).
==Reception==
===Critical reception===
The film was received positively by critics. It received a 91% Fresh rating on [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes) based on 33 reviews.[{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terror_2015/ |title=(T)ERROR |work=Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=22 February 2016}}] It also received a score of 73 (generally favorable) on [Metacritic](/source/Metacritic), based on 12 reviews.[{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/terror |title= (T)error |work=[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic) |accessdate=20 December 2015}}] The consensus according to Rotten Tomatoes being "''(T)ERROR'' should dishearten and disturb viewers concerned with the erosion of American [civil rights](/source/civil_rights) – and it doesn't even hit its targets as hard as it could.".[{{cite news|title=''(T)ERROR''|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/terror-2015|accessdate=22 December 2015|work=[RogerEbert.com](/source/RogerEbert.com)|date=7 October 2015}}]
===Awards and nominations===
;Won
*The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences – Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary (2017)[{{cite web|url=http://cdn.emmyonline.org/news_38th_winners_v02.pdf|title=THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS AT THE 38th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS|website=Cdn.emmyonline.org|access-date=15 March 2022|archive-date=8 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108054033/http://cdn.emmyonline.org/news_38th_winners_v02.pdf|url-status=dead}}]
*Sundance – Special Jury Prize for Breakout First Feature (2015)