Tag Archives: documentary

Aquariums: The Dark Hobby

Hawaii is ground zero in the global struggle to save marine wildlife. Some species of fish have been driven to extinction by collectors, and others are severely diminished.

Elsewhere, cyanide and dynamite is used to hunt the tropical fish to be captured as ´pets´ and then their their fins cut, and swim bladders pierced with needles, they are sealed in bags to ship globally. 90% die within a year of capture, creating a demand for replacement.

These fish eat the algae growing on the coral. When they’re removed from the reef for sale, the coral dies – which produces 50% of earth’s oxygen.

Aquariums: The Dark Hobby is an expose of this viscous industry while also highlighting the work of Native Hawaiian Elders, conservationists and scientists who struggle to ensure the survival of these stunning tiny creatures that are targets of a trade worth billions.

Inside Maximum Security (series)

Five hardened criminals, One unique prison, in a ground-breaking observational documentary series, that will show you for the first time what prison is really like.

Singapore’s Changi Prison is a concrete purgatory, spartan to the extreme. There are no beds, no pillows and no chairs in the cells. A shower is done stooping above a toilet hole. Humiliating strip searches are routine, as a matter of security. Yet, practiced in this prison are some of the most sophisticated methods to reform the hearts and minds of the most recalcitrant prisoners. So much so that Singapore’s reoffending rates are among the lowest globally. Yet even at those low rates, at least 1-in-5 inmates are back in jail within 2 years after their release.

For the first time ever, six inmates, incarcerated multiple times and at least once at maximum security, agree to reveal their full identities, for our cameras to capture their lives behind bars, as they unfold. Will the regime in jail finally be enough for them to renounce a life of crime? Will this be their final stint in Changi Prison?


Episode 1 –  Life in Lockdown 

How hard is life in prison? We explore prison regime through the eyes of officers and inmates in Changi’s Maximum-security prison. How does an inmate live in a single-man cell?

In this first episode, we enter a world behind bars to meet the inmates. We follow Graceson, a gangster who manages to get himself a new tattoo in prison and is duly caned for it; Khai, a professional skateboarder who is just coming to terms with the loss of his career; Rusdi who is counting down to his release in 50 days using packets of snacks; And Boon Keng gets into trouble for keeping origami in his cell during a cell search.



Episode 2 –   Keeping Bonds Beyond Bars

An inmate sentenced to maximum security prison has nothing more to lose. Or so some would think.  But losing one’s freedom is nothing compared to losing one’s family.

We follow the residents of maximum security as they try to hang on to their relationships while in lockdown. Boon Keng attempts to reconnect with a daughter that he has not seen in years. Graceson’s tough persona unravels when his wife stops coming to visit him. Iskandar comes to terms with saying goodbye to his family as a death sentence looms over his drug trafficking charge. And family problems drive Khai to spiral, leading him to consider suicide.


Episode 3 –  Breaking Bad Habits

Life in maximum security is predictable. It’s rules, routines and rigor. No questions asked. No choices given.

But what happens when inmates step out into a world where they’re free to make decisions?

Desperate to break his cycle of reoffending, Boon Keng takes matters into his own hands and seeks to confront his greatest obstacle. After being given a new lease of life, Iskandar grasps an opportunity he neglected in his childhood. Rusdi’s loved ones try to dissuade him from returning to a career that sent him on a downward spiral. Under the supervision of psychologists, Khai revisits his dark past.


Episode 4 –   Road To Freedom

In the finale, our inmates try to ready themselves for their eventual return to the real world beyond the gates of Changi Prison. 

Graceson seeks help from a psychologist to prepare him for a call with his daughter, whom he has not spoken to for a year. Khai takes another step in managing his emotions, by counselling other inmates in managing theirs. Boon Keng is granted an interview for a programme that would see him serving the last third of his sentence in the community, but will he be able to convince his interviewers that he will not return to drugs? After 20 years, Iskandar is taking his ‘O’ levels again, how will he fare this time? Rusdi’s will be released in a matter of days; will he be able to stay out of trouble, and get released as scheduled?

Big Fight in Little China Town

Big Fight in Little Chinatown is a story of community resistance and resilience. Set against the backdrop of the unprecedented rise in anti-Asian racism, the documentary takes us into the lives of residents, businesses and community organizers whose neighborhoods are facing active erasure.

Coast to Coast the film follows Chinatown communities resisting the pressures around them. From the construction of the world’s largest vertical jail in New York, Montreal’s fight against developers swallowing up the most historic block of their Chinatown, big box chains and gentrification forces displacing Toronto’s community, to a Vancouver Chinatown business holding steadfast, the film reveals how Chinatown is both a stand-in for other communities who’ve been wiped off the city map, and the blueprint for inclusive and resilient neighbourhoods of the future.

When a City Rises

When a city rises up against a superpower, everyone must decide how far they will go for freedom.

Hong Kong 2019 – The world has seen the iconic images of protestors covered in black, tossing back tear gas, waving black flags and protesting against the authoritarian superpower that is China in order to fight for a democratic future. It is easy to be caught up in the action, in the glorification of bravery and sacrifice. But away from the limelight, who are these hidden people concealed underneath their masks? What are the protestors really fighting for? What is at stake for them?

Narrated by Eve, a student, When a City Rises follows a teenage couple in love, a student leader, and a father, as they navigate the protest movement, each taking different kinds of action to strike back against the superpower overshadowing their lives. Using direct action, guerrilla tactics, technology, social media, memes and graffiti, they try to challenge the status quo. Each one plays a different role in this huge social movement. Eve, offers background legal support from her ‘control’ room. She is entirely behind the more radical action until her campus is besieged by police and in response protesters turn her university into a brick and firebomb factory. Tan, a father, first took to the streets when the government proposed the extradition bill. He is quickly radicalised and grows impatient with the political impasse, contemplating more dangerous action, even though he has the most to lose. 18-year-old MJ dreams of being a footballer and likes shopping with his girlfriend. Born in a different time, he would be splitting his hours between school and the pitch. Instead, every weekend he is at a protest, putting his relationship in peril.

When a City Rises captures three characters and a year of their personal struggles throughout the movement. Each must confront their own fears and find out exactly how much they are willing to risk for change. Relationships break and form amidst tear gas and rubber bullets, and across the border, China’s People Liberation Army awaits.  With a global pandemic driving protests inside and the new even more repressive National Security Law introduced, the stakes have never been higher.

Sieged: The Press Vs Denialism

As Brazil’s death toll surpasses a quarter of a million, President Jair Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to “stop whining.” Leading his country through a global pandemic with denialism, propaganda and unchecked bravado, he has brought his country to the edge of disaster.

This immersive documentary rolls back the clock to when the pandemic first started, telling the story of the frontline journalists who were desperate to warn the country of an impending public health disaster. Sieged holds up an uncanny mirror to the events in the US and the rest of the world, as Brazilians see their health ministers fired and undermined, racially motived killings proliferate, and journalists disempowered and blamed every step of the way with allegations of reporting fake news. Elsewhere we see hospitals at breaking point and other essential service workers pushed to the edge, as families lose their loved ones in droves.

This documentary takes viewers behind the scenes, into the newsrooms, behind the cameras and into the press scrums for a deeper view of the political turmoil and corruption brought to light as COVID-19 hit Brazil.

Grain: Analog Renaissance

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it’s a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere. Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Is it just a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly superficial world? Or is it something else entirely?

Grain: Analog Renaissance is a documentary by Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi that explores the stories of those committed to using film in modern day photography.

Artificial Immortality

If you were able to create an immortal version of yourself, would you? Until this decade, that question was the stuff of science fiction, but now experts in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics suggest it will indeed be possible.

This cinematic documentary explores the latest technological advancements in AI, robotics and biotech, and poses the question: what is the essence of the human mind, and can this be replicated? Or even more unsettling, could we one day meet cloned versions of ourselves – clones which are better, smarter, and immortal? 

This film explores these questions with visionaries including: Nick Bostrom, author of Superintelligence, Hiroshi Ishiguro, developer of his own uncannily realistic clone Geminoid; Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human; Ben Goertzel, founder of Singularity.net who coined the term Artificial General Intelligence; and Deepak Chopra, who is creating his own A.I. mind twin. These visionaries see humanity advancing toward a new age of post-biological life, a world of intelligence without bodies, immortal identity without the limitations of disease, death, and unfulfilled desire. As scientists on the forefront of technology show that a world where humans and machines merge isn’t so far away, we have to ask ourselves will AI be the best, or the last thing we ever do?

Opening film at Hot Docs 2021

¨A fascinating foray deep into the realms of artificial intelligence, machine learning and biotechnology.¨ National Post  Chris Knight

¨The movie at once understands both the beauty and enormity of the possibilities.¨  Global News  Chris Jancelewicz

Climate Trailblazers: Reimagining Our Future

Exciting technologies have emerged, setting the gears in motion for a new green industrial revolution.

Climate Trailbazers; Reimagining Our Future examines the new technologies and practices that decouple social and economic growth from carbon emissions showcasing innovations across the world that provide new and greener ways of producing energy, materials and food.

These new technologies, if adopted at scale, could move the needle on climate change.

The new tech and business models featured also prove that sustainability can be profitable, while consumers and whole industries alike can play their part in slowing – and reversing – environmental damage and creating a more sustainable future for generations to come.

Climate Trailblazers provides a message of hope for those who care about sustainability, and our planet, in what is often characterised as an unavoidable catastrophe.

Young & Afraid

In 2017 Petter (24) decides to end his life, but at the very last moment, is stopped by the police. His best friend and fellow film student Sverre is determined to help and suggests they make a film to keep Petter busy and focused on getting better. Equipped with a camera, they search the streets of Oslo to find out how other troubled souls deal with their lives.

With a naïve and spontaneous approach, they end up in dramatic and unpredictable situations. They meet Monica, whose past has led her to self-injurious behaviour. Oliver and Cornelia, both escaping their demons with alcohol and drugs, and Emma, who is transsexual, lesbian, and proud of who she is. They also meet Miriam, who becomes Petter’s girlfriend.

By getting to know their destructive patterns, Petter becomes aware of his own. By facing their problems, he sets off on a bumpy therapeutic journey, that eventually brings light into his darkness.

Young & Afraid is an authentic and raw documentary about choosing to live.

The Face of Anonymous

In the late Spring 2020—in the midst of coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and U.S. presidential nomination coverage—mainstream media outlets reported that the anarchic “hacktivist” network Anonymous was back after several years of relative quiet.  “We will be exposing your many crimes to the world,” a masked messenger told the Minneapolis police department in a clip that went viral, captivating millions of young viewers. “We are legion. Expect us.”

This pivotal moment is the perfect time to unveil The Face of Anonymous, a verité journey into the world of Commander X, one of the most iconic, divisive, and outspoken figures in the history of the international online movement. Now living in exile in Mexico, Commander X is ready to tell his own remarkable story and to reveal not just the How but the Why of Anon’s modus operandi.

Christopher Mark Doyon, aka Commander X, personifies the trajectory of American activism “from the streets, to the Internet, and then back to the streets,” says journalist and author David Kushner, one of several observers, compadres, and detractors who provide the context—and, sometimes, reality check—in which Commander X’s rough and righteous odyssey unfolds.

We are introduced to Commander X by Toronto novelist Ian Thornton who confesses that, at first, he couldn’t believe that the thin, craggy, talkative panhandler he’d befriended was a cyber warlord who’d been on the run from the FBI for six years. 

We soon learn Doyon is an old-school revolutionary. As a computer-smitten teeager, he fled a difficult childhood in rural Maine, moving Zelig-like through various activist hotspots and taking up hacking long before most of us had heard the term. He considers himself a freedom-fighter who’s helped shape the 21st century.

When PayPal, Mastercard, and VISA blocked people from using their services to support Wikileaks, Commander X led the charge to nuke their websites, costing millions and waking the FBI up to the power of Anonymous. When the Egyptian government cut off the Internet during the Arab Spring, Commander X was one of the lead hackers to turn it back on.

More recently, as Homeland investigates Russian election hacking, Commander X says he knows that the Russian hackers are the real deal—he’s seen them lurking in the digital world through which he continues to stride.

“I’ll see you all later tonight on Anonymous Bites Back,” says Doyon, closing his livestream from a town square in Mexico. “Look for that on Twitter. I’ll be on, expect me.”

Premiered at Hot Docs 2021

Vinyl Nation

Vinyl Nation is the comprehensive documentary about vinyl – past and present – taking in the fandom, the production, its sound, and its history including its road-bumps, and a new generation of fans that smash the stereotype of it being the preserve of older white males.

The vinyl record renaissance over the past decade has brought new fans to a classic format and transformed our idea of a record collector: younger, both male and female, multicultural. This same revival has made buying music more expensive, benefited established bands over independent artists and muddled the question of whether vinyl actually sounds better than other formats.

Vinyl Nation digs into the crates of the record resurgence in search of truths set in deep wax: Has the return of vinyl made music fandom more inclusive or divided? What does vinyl say about our past here in the present? How has the second life of vinyl changed how we hear music and how we listen to each other?

¨ An engaging journey.. Visually stunning¨
The Chicago Reader

¨ Entertaining and informative.. Vinyl Nation transcends its niche subject matter¨
Decider

 

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet

In the same way that the first applications of computer technology can now look primitive and undeveloped, the same will likely be said about blockchain and the current focus on cryptocurrencies. The potential is so vast and expansive that it is difficult to fathom, while also being widely misunderstood.  

Put simply, blockchains are shared ledgers that don’t require any trusted third-party administrators; transactions or data can be accessed transparently and are said to be incorruptible. Blockchain technology has the potential to become a foundation of every business interaction that requires trust and co-operation – but is there more to it? 

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains and the Future of the Internet takes a deep dive into the crypto ecosystem and blockchain technology to discover the good, the bad and the ugly of this controversial industry, its major narratives, conflicts and the major players behind it. Can we really trust them to build this trustless cyber utopia or are their projects just as unfairly distributed and easily manipulated as our current financial systems and tech platforms?

Beginning with the basics of Bitcoin and the origins of the blockchain movement we highlight the recent debate within the community: Is Bitcoin digital gold, a new asset class to invest in or is it the global currency of the Internet? In the second act, we explore other crypto currencies and the many different uses of blockchain technology including the new concept of smart contracts. Finally, we look at the history of the Internet to show what developments have lead to our current crisis of mega-corporations controlling information.

While some see the development of blockchain-based systems as having the potential to take down the Facebooks and the Amazons, and decentralise governance – leading to calls for regulation – others fear that the technology will be co-opted, privatised and derailed by these same forces. 

While some see the potential for transparency and the removal of lawyers, bankers and wall street from our lives, others see greater opportunities to scam and defraud.

Can blockchain technology be used to create a new, fairer, decentralised and uncensored web3.0 where we can control our data and protect our online identities? Or will the potential be squandered as mega corporations once again compete for dominance in this new field.

With his unrivalled and exclusive access, award-winning filmmaker Torsten Hoffmann (Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It) takes us on a journey into the heart of this brave new world.

Cryptopia has been officially selected as part of Academy Award Qualifying film festival DocEdge 2020, and has won 16 awards at international film festivals in 2021.