Tag Archives: justice

Eternal Spring: The Heist of China’s Airwaves

In March 2002, a state TV station in China was hijacked by members of outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal was to counter the government narrative about their practice.

In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee. He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul, South Korea.

Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the event, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.

Eternal Spring: The Heist of China´s Airwaves brings to life with stunning animation, the heist, and its repercussions.

¨an inspired mixed-media reflection¨
The Guardian

¨thrilling and emotional story of a group of Falun Gong practitioners who managed to take over Chinese State TV… A Story of immense bravery¨
Movies That Matter

¨A resounding success… an ultra-compelling, suspense-filled investigation¨
Avoir-Alire

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Winner of the Hot Docs Audience Award and the Rogers Audience Award at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival.

Winner of the Fischer Audience Award (Best International Feature) at the 24th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

Winner of the Human Values Award from the Greek Parliament. 
 
Recipient of Grand Jury Documentary Award – Special Mention at Movies That Matter Festival in The Hague. 

Activist Night film – Movies That Matter Festival.

Gun Shot Wound

Gun Shot Wound takes a hard look at routine gun violence in America through the eyes of its trauma surgeons. The film examines the crisis through a public health lens and highlights hospital-based violence intervention programs designed to combat the epidemic.

Every day in the United States, an average of 318 people are shot—about 116,000 victims each year. Most aren’t involved in mass shootings; instead they’re caught in the web of routine, almost invisible, gun violence. More than 35,000 of these victims will die from their wounds.

Dr. Amy Goldberg leads the team that treats more than 500 gunshot victims each year. In 2019, someone was shot every 6 1⁄2 hours in Phildelphia, where she works. We follow Dr. Goldberg on a busy Friday evening in the trauma centre. In the space of 12 hours, she’ll treat three gunshot victims and perform emergency life-saving surgery on one of them. And since 80% of gunshot victims survive in Philadelphia, Gun Shot Wound gives an authentic look at the daunting process of rehab and often permanent disability. Meanwhile, Dr Joseph Sakran shares his day-to-day experience treating gunshot victims in Baltimore and introduces viewers to Brandon Fisher. Brandon arrived at the trauma bay nearly dead with 13 bullet wounds and injuries in almost every cavity in his body. It took a multi-disciplinary team of surgeons and more than 15 surgeries for Brandon to recover.

Gun Shot Wound shows what really happens when someone gets shot and highlights how physicians and hospitals are not just treating patients, but going above and beyond to prevent gun violence.

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.

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

The Politics of Climate Change

The World Health Organisation puts the number of deaths from climate change at 250,000 by 2050.

We travel the world to see how the devastation wrought by droughts, wildfires, floods and catastrophic rains – all the direct results of climate change – are a political problem, and require political solutions. From the outback of Australia, to the Pakistani Himalayas and Brazilian Amazon, this series takes us to the front line of the approaching disaster.

Along the way, we meet people and activists trying to find ways to tackle the biggest issue of the 21st century.

A combination of bad policies and political apathy is speeding up climate change. Have we reached the tipping point? Can it be reversed?

 

Episode 1 – Australia´s Coal Conundrum

Against the backdrop of dwindling water resources, ravaging bushfires and high unemployment, a controversial new mine set to be built in Central Queensland is being met with controversy and passionate resistance. Further mining activities promise to exacerbate the region’s already dwindling water resources while raising Australia’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The perceived silver lining in the building of the controversial Carmichael Mine is the promise of job creation. But, at what cost?

 

Episode 2 – Brazil´s Amazonian Battle

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon increased 30% since Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came to power. More than 120,000 square kilometers of the Amazon forest have been destroyed: an area a fifth the size of Wales in the last 10 years. It’s displaced around 400 indigenous groups but has also decimated a vast store of carbon that is vital for tackling climate change. The jungles produce 20% of the world’s oxygen. We go on an investigative journey to reveal the gold rush pushing communities over the edge. Along the way, we meet the Mundurukku aboriginal tribes and activists fighting to stop the destruction of Amazon jungles. We also meet activists seeking solutions for a sustainable lifestyle.

 

Episode 3 – Pakistan´s Himalayan Meltdown

The word Himalaya means House of Snow, and is the second largest icecap outside the polar regions. But it is melting at the fastest rate in human history. One-third of the Himalayan glaciers are projected to disappear by the end of this century due to climate change, threatening the supply of water to nearly 2 billion people across South Asia. We discover how water became a major flash point between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, due to the Siachen glacier conflict, and go undercover to observe the proliferation of water thieves in Karachi. We also examine the impact of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s billion tree tsunami, Pakistan’s bold bid to mitigate worsening climate change.

Mind Forward

The symbiosis of the brain / mind and artificial intelligence will give rise to a new humanity, a kind of ´super-humanity´.

Brain-machine communication will allow that the cognitive capabilities of human beings will be enhanced, giving rise to the first augmented humans. Connected brains will lead to powerful synthetic telepathy technologies making it possible to not only to read other person’s thoughts, but also manipulate them. But where what are the potential benefits and pitfalls of these new technologies?

Neuro – technologies are about to cause a radical social shift that will change our understanding of the inner self and our very conception of reality. Neuro – rights will be foremost, necessitating regulations that guarantee the privacy of our conscious or even subconscious thoughts.

Mind Forward explores the frontiers of this brave new world.

The Dark Web (series)

There’s a dark side to the internet, and you probably don’t even know it exists. Look behind the positive veneer of social media, communication apps and platforms that have made our lives easier and more connected, and you’ll find criminals using the same apps and platforms to run illicit and dangerous activities.

Sextortion syndicates target victims globally through social media. Illegal wildlife trades thrive on social consumer marketplaces. Digital black markets operate anonymously using software designed for press privacy and freedom to sell drugs. Secret child pornography rings run rampant in secret, closed groups and private chats.

This explosive new series lifts the lid on how criminal organisations are thriving in this new digital frontier.


Episode One – The Queen of Sextortion

Sextortion was invented by one woman in the Philippines, Maria Caparas. She turned the idea of making friends online and recording explicit video chats into a profitable blackmail and extortion scam that could not exist without social media. She now runs a mini empire seemingly beyond the reach of authorities, that has led to many suicides.

Episode Two – Wildlife Clickbait

They may look like ordinary posts of exotic pets for sale on social media. But they are feeding a growing trade in illegal and endangered animals in Malaysia and beyond. This criminal industry is worth billions and is jeopardising attempts to protect endangered species.

Episode Three – Black Market Boom

Drugs, guns, counterfeit documents and much more are sold on dark web marketplaces that run on anonymous browsers and using cryptocurrency. AlphaBay was the biggest marketplace, transacting over US$800,000 in a day enabling its founder to live a luxury lifestyle in anonymity, until international law enforcement caught up with him.

Episode Four – The Candyman

It was one of 640 million closed groups on Facebook. Hiding behind the anonymity, the creator of child pornography group Loli Candy and its 7,000 members hid their activities on Facebook and Whatsapp – the dissemination of horrifying images of abuse. While they were eventually bought to justice many more thrive.

The Rise of Jordan Peterson

With incredible exclusive access, The Rise of Jordan Peterson after he took a public stance against trans human rights legislation in Canada in late 2016 rising to meteoric global fame for denouncing political correctness.

Jordan Peterson gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the firestorm sparked by provocative professor and best selling author Filmmaker Patricia Marcoccia follows psychology professor Jordan Peterson as he navigates his way through the biggest controversy of his career. With candid interviews and unparalleled access to Peterson, his family, and to transgender and social justice activists who opposed his views, the documentary provides a fascinating look at this internationally scrutinised dispute.

Sparking both outrage and support, Peterson’s criticisms of Canada’s policies to enforce legal rights for non-binary gender identification were met with protests and calls for his dismissal from his tenured university position, as well as an outpouring of social and financial support for his public commentary on the underlying dangers of cultures becoming too politically correct.

Peterson quickly became a rorschach test for society: he was denounced as transphobic and bigoted by some, and praised as a hero for civil liberties by others. His public lectures, which were critical of social trends to tow the politically correct line, quickly transformed him into a famous public intellectual, internationally best-selling author and an academic rock star who tours sold-out venues around the world.

This film takes an unprecedented look at Jordan Peterson and explores the tension between free speech and hate speech, exploring points-of-view of those on both sides of this heightened debate.

To rent or buy, visit Vimeo,  iTunes, Amazon or Google Play.

Inside Saudi Arabia (series)

Saudi Arabia is well known across the world for its wealth, strict faith and oppression, but while Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has decreed that it wants to reform, the world is startled by the murder of journalist Khashoggi and other human rights violations.

We follow the developments from the inside, through the eyes of the inhabitants themselves. Are they just empty promises or is Saudi Arabia actually able to change?

 

Episode 1: In Search for Freedom 

We travel across Saudi Arabia and follow the reforms from within for a year. The country wants to diversify its economy by opening its borders to tourism.

In Jeddah, many young people hope for change, demanding greater equality between men and women, but the conservative opposition is enormous. One wrong word and they can be arrested. How far do they go in the fight for freedom?

 

Episode 2: Under the Control of the Royal Family

In the second episode, we enter the Saudi Arabian elite, where it becomes clear that the killing of Khashoggi does not impact their loyalty towards the royal family.

We are invited to Diriyah where religion and the House of Saud coincide, leading us to the mosque of Wahab, which is said to be a birthplace of extremist ideas.

 

Episode 3: The Power of the Holy Cities 

The two holy cities of Mecca and Medina give Saudi Arabia enormous religious power.

We follow the trail of the pilgrims, from the port of Jeddah to the Holy Kaäba. There is a call for a more moderate Islam, but do religious leaders really support this?

 

Episode 4: Travelling to Reality 

After the murder of Khashoggi, the question is what will happen with the reforms. Is the support for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman crumbling?

We travel to the rarely covered conservative South, on the border with Yemen, where the population’s resistance to change is the fiercest.