BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) – Even before the film’s release, Hollywood director Michael Bay’s new action movie is stirring controversy among government officials and residents of Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and the birthplace of the uprising against longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The film, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” depicts the events of the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate that killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. It is set to be released in January 2016.
Based only on the trailer, which has recently made rounds on Libya’s social media, Benghazi locals and officials slammed “Transformers” director Bay for his unreleased film, calling it an “insult” to the north African nation.
“The people of Benghazi always wanted to be part of the international community,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman for Libya’s internationally-recognized government Salah Belnaba said.
But Bay’s new action flick, he said, sends a message that they are “fanatical and ignorant.”