Abstract
The Colonel’s Stray Dogs, directed by the London-born Libyan-South African filmmaker Khalid Shamis, documents the life of Shamis’s father, Ashour Shamis, focusing on his work as a longtime anti-Gaddafi activist, especially with the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NSFL). Though almost entirely focused on the political life of Ashour Shamis, the documentary provides an account of Libyan politics, society, culture, and international relations since 1969. Through the perspective of the older Shamis it sheds light on the political and military efforts to topple Gaddafi, whose downfall did not come until the Arab Spring. It also highlights the foreign intervention in support of the uprisings in 2011, along with the aftermath.