Tag Archives: Science

Meeting ISIL

Anyone who is not with us is the enemy and should be branded an infidel.

This seems to be the prevailing ideology of the extreme Takfiri terrorists known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Their aim is said to be the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate. Shias, Christians, Sunnis, Yazidies, and whoever dares to question them or raise the voice of dissent is persecuted under their distorted version of Islamic Sharia.

Gruesome beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions are openly carried out under their iconic black flag. At times, it seems like their victims are whoever is unlucky enough to be in their path during their killing sprees. And yet they know how to manipulate social media and have succeeded in brainwashing some to join them in their ‘fight for justice’.

To learn who these people are, what they are fighting for, and who funds them, we go deep into their camps and bring you face to face interviews and exclusive footage. Many of those who were initially infatuated by the group’s promise of justice seem to be horrified and utterly disillusioned today.

DSKNECTD: Is Technology Changing Us?

Since childhood we’d been promised that the 21st century would bring us dramatic new technologies like flying cars and utopian cities. Instead it bought us the smartphone, social media, virtual societies and online gaming. As it turns out these technologies began to transform society almost as dramatically as the moon colonies we’d been expecting.

DSKNECTD: Is Technology Changing Us? is a sobering and definitive exploration of how digital communication technology has intruded our lives, and changed society in the process. Covering subjects ranging from online pornography and sexting to social media narcissism and gaming addiction, DSKNECTD surveys the changes to the digital landscape that in just one decade have profoundly altered the way we connect to those around us.

Intelligently crafted from groundbreaking new research and the experiences of ordinary people, DSKNECTD examines how these technologies are changing the way we interact and experience each other – for the good and for the bad.

Beyond Pollution

A thought provoking, in-depth look at the causes and effects of the most devastating man made environmental disaster America has ever experienced.

Beyond Pollution is a firsthand investigation into BP’s disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Traveling thousands of miles across the Gulf coast interviewing environmental experts, government officials, fisherman & distributors, scientists, drilling engineers, and key BP contractors, the film reveals, in depth the immediate and long term environmental, economic, and health impacts the tragedy is having on the local communities.

In the context of BP’s record on safety and the environment, the oil spill now seems sadly inevitable, so why weren’t measures put in place to avoid the disaster that will be felt for generations to come? How were they able to play down the consequences and avoid criminal responsibility, and how did their response further devestate those communities affected?

Beyond Pollution is an exhaustively researched and elegantly executed expose on an avoidable tragedy that began with an oil spill but had far-reaching, and unreported repercussions, uncovering what really happened, why, and who really benefited

Carbon Nation

Carbon Nation is an optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that shows tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national & energy security and promotes health & a clean environment.

Public opinion is sliding the wrong way – far fewer people are concerned about climate change than even a year ago.

Carbon Nation was made to give an entertaining, informed and pragmatic primer about why it’s incredibly smart to be a part of the new, low-carbon economy. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don’t buy it at all, this is a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues.

We meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way, including entrepreneurs, visionaries, scientists and the everyday man, all making a difference and working towards solving climate change. We already have the technology to combat most of the worst-case scenarios of climate change, and it makes business sense too.

Carbon Nation’s pioneering optimism and pragmatism are appealing across the political spectrum, and while other good films have been about problems, blame and guilt, Carbon Nation is a film that celebrates solutions, inspiration and action.

Are All Men Pedophiles?

We live in a society that condemns pedophiles, though biological instinct and world cultures throughout history suggest that an attraction to adolescents is as natural as it is unavoidable. The fashion industry on the one hand sexualises ever younger girls while those who act on these instincts are reviled. The apparent hypocrisy at the heart of society forces the question: What do we mean then when we talk about Pedophilia?

This films broad canvas takes in how our evolution and biological make-up have through-out history created cultures where what would today be called Pedophilia has passed without note, and with the complicity of all religions.  It also looks at how media definitions differ to scientific ones, whether Pedophilia could be considered a sexuality, how the definition differs between modern societies as well as presenting the testimony of both victims and perpetrators.

In conclusion, we are faced with both the contradiction of a society which fetishizes youth and the question: Are All Men Pedophiles?

Programming the Nation

Programming the Nation is a feature documentary about the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950′s subliminal content has been delivered through all forms of mass-media. The modern military has even been accused of these practices in the War on Terror. Director, Jeff Warrick, leads this journey through the subconscious mind while examining the reported history, scientific research and potential effects of such techniques on society.

With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, this fast-paced film explores the alleged use of subliminals in advertising, music, film, political propaganda and the military. It takes in the entire history of alleged subliminal messages, from hidden sexual imagery in Disney cartoons and satanic messages in rock music, to the James Vicary experiment where “drink coca-cola” was flashed between frames at a cinema, and the infamous Republican “RATS” campaign that won Bush the presidency.

Warrick makes it his mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in Programming the Nation, or if subliminal programming belongs in the category of what many consider an urban legend. Now, you be the judge…

The Shark Con

When Director Rusty Armstrong accompanied the Editor of Shark Diver magazine on a diving trip, a passion for shark conservation was shared by everyone they met. Overfishing and finning were the reasons for their depletion and had to be stopped. But then at the end of the trip, they met a retired shark fisherman who had different ideas about shark conservation…

The shark fisherman had fished sharks for three decades, and kept extensive notes about his catches and shark migrations, but then in 1997, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) attempted to put an end to overfishing and heavily reduced shark fishing quotas. Despite a well-known scientist presenting ground-breaking research that proved sharks couldn’t be overfished, his work was dismissed and the shark fisherman were put out of business.

The Shark Con uncovers the truth about the shark conservation industry.

Following the collapse of shark fishing, the shark tourism industry – comprised of people with a common goal of protecting sharks – was the next to suffer from new regulations being imposed. As the investigation mounts, it becomes clear that many non-profit organisations were raising millions of dollars each year for shark research, yet very little research was actually being done. Meanwhile, more and more regulations were being implemented.

The Shark Con takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride into the big business of shark fishing, revealing the controversial truth about the industry and answering the question: Are sharks really overfished or is this just an elaborate con?