“Did you ever think, Blerim, that you were going to be a spy?”
“Never in my life.”
“So you didn’t train to be a spy?”
“No, never.”
“So it was just by accident?”
“By accident, yes.”
These are the opening words of The Accidental Spy - a documentary directed by Oscar-nominated, double EMMY and triple BAFTA-winning director and producer Anthony Wonke. Wonke has extensive experience working in the Middle East, having made several films in and about the region such as Syria: Children on the Frontline (2014) and The Battle for Marjah (2010). You can see his extensive experience in the way he sets up Blerim Skoro’s story - the main figure behind The Accidental Spy.
Skoro is a complicated man. Drafted forcibly into the Yugoslavian army and escaping from the war zone as a refugee, working for the Albanian mafia in the US, and being arrested then recruited from a Manhattan prison to work as an al-Qaeda spy… as director Wonke states, “He is no James Bond or Jason Bourne, but a flawed man”. Yet you can’t help but empathize with him and put yourself in his shoes - supporting a family of nine where nobody was working but him, it is easy to see how he got caught up in the decisions that he made throughout his life story. As he states himself, “Bad people always take advantage of the situation of the person with struggles.” Still, he gets emotional while recalling the impact that his actions had on his family while dealing drugs - “Let my child go home. I will talk.” If anything else, he truly puts his family above all.
After witnessing 9/11 from his window, he gets a call from the FBI and is asked to work for them as a spy to infiltrate al-Qaeda in exchange for his freedom. “If government promises you something, they will keep the promise,” says a hopeful Skoro. But as the film continues, we see that is not the case. The CIA and the FBI give false promises to Skoro - promising him reduced prison time, promising him he can be with his family, promising him extra pay. Instead, he is deported to Kosovo to continue working for the US government undercover. The US Embassy promises to not treat him like the CIA and the FBI, but abandons him as soon as he is put in too much risk for them to protect him. They drop him off at the border between Kosovo and Macedonia, with his leg still healing from the bullet wound. Truly, it is horrifying to see how disposable the US government treats this man, even after he dedicates years of his life to them. This is a story of not just loyalty, but betrayal.
As I walked away from this film, all I could think was, “This man deserved better.” He was failed by the justice system, he was failed by the US government, he was failed by the US people. As the director himself says to him in the end, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” I won’t spoil what happens to him. But all I could think while watching was, how many other people like Skoro fell through the cracks of the system, who weren’t able to make the right decisions at the right time? This film is truly an important one needed to expose the failures of the US government, and how it treats those that help it. We need it so people can learn, and so that we can do better. I believe that we can do better. I believe we must do better. And hopefully, we will do better.
The Accidental Spy screens at the Spring 2025 New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, February 1st. The film will be Online for 24 Hours on this show date and In-Person at 7 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.
The 43rd Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 24-February 21, 2025. The Festival will be a hybrid one as it will be presented online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VoD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. Plus, acclaimed singer-songwriter Renee Maskin will be doing an audio-visual concert on Friday, February 21 at 7PM! The in-person screenings and the Renee Maskin concert will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.
For more info go here: https://newjerseyfilmfestivalspring2025.eventive.org/welcome
