Informant
Informant examines Brandon Darby, a radical activist turned FBI informant who has been both vilified and deified, but never entirely understood.
In 2005, Darby became an overnight activist hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a friend stranded in the Ninth Ward. Soon after, he became a founding member of Common Ground, a successful grassroots relief organization.
After two young activists were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby shocked close friends and activists nationwide by revealing he had been instrumental in the indictment as an FBI informant.
As the only film with access to Darby since his public confession, Informant meticulously constructs a portrait of his life – before and after the death threats – through interviews with Darby and tense reenactments starring the man himself.
Darby’s version of events are accompanied and often contradicted by commentary from acquaintances and expert commentators on various points along the political spectrum.
“The unreliable-narrator docu develops a new wrinkle or two with “Informant.” Jamie Meltzer’s engrossing portrait lets Brandon Darby tell his own story – of a self-proclaimed far-left, anti-government activist-turned-FBI snitch now feted at Tea Party gatherings –while fellow travelers cast doubt on that testimony every step of the way. An absorbing puzzle with the potential to intrigue viewers all along the political spectrum.”
– Dennis Harvey, Variety
“A kind of ‘Fog of War’ for the age of Occupy”
– Indiewire
“The force of Darby’s personality – a rich stew of righteousness, arrogance and self-delusion — gives the doc a psychological appeal independent of politics… it deserves a theatrical run.”
-John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter