Tag Archives: Corruption

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.

Resistencia

“A thoroughly captivating window into history as never told by the winners — beautiful, enraging, profoundly inspiring.” Naomi Klein

June 28th, 2009. The Honduran people are preparing to vote in the first referendum in the country’s history. But, instead of waking up to ballot boxes, they see soldiers carrying out the first coup d’état in Central America in three decades.

This is the story of the two thousand farming families who challenged the coup by taking over the plantations of the most powerful landowner in the country and converting them into worker-run cooperatives.

Shot over four years, the film is both a testament to the capacity of an organized movement to transform the most fertile land in the country, as well as an account of the coup regime’s violent attempts to get the land back.

Mad As Hell

The Young Turks, one the most popular online news show in the world, has amassed a YouTube network of over 2.4 million subscribers and 2 billion views. But that wasn’t always the case.

MAD AS HELL documents the tumultuous, at times hilarious and altogether astonishing trajectory of Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks’ main host and founder, as he traverses from unknown Public Access TV host to internet sensation by way of YouTube. When he ventures into national television by landing the 6 PM time slot on MSNBC, Cenk’s uncensored brand of journalism is compromised as he becomes a thorn in the side of traditional news media; his unwavering dedication to speaking the truth puts him at the nexus of the battle between new and old media, and makes MAD AS HELL not only entertaining, but incredibly timely as well.

 

The Ministry of Truth

Are you sick of dishonest politics? The cure is here (and surprisingly entertaining..)

It’s a simple enough question, but when filmmaker Richard Symons asks MPs, “Should it be unlawful for parliamentarians to lie?” he has them all spluttering into their mandates. Proposing his very own Misrepresentation of the Peoples Bill, Symons listens to Jack Straw, Harriet Harman and Lord Falconer tell him why it’s unrealistic for politicians to be held accountable for what they tell the electorate. Lord Falconer even suggests Symons wouldn’t himself expect to be prosecuted for a few lies. “But I don’t run the country,” Symons retorts. The parlous state of the cradle of democracy may come as a surprise to the film’s potential global audience, but sadly not to its domestic one.

This is a keenly serious film, disguised by its light-hearted tone, which led to the passing of the Misrepresentation of the People’s Act bill in Parliament.

Blue Code of Silence

Bob Leuci: American Hero or the Biggest Rat in NYPD History? 

It’s 1970’s New York City, crime and drug trafficking is at an all time high and police corruption is rife. One officer went under-cover within his own department, wore a wire and collected evidence, eventually bringing to trial over 50 of his colleagues in the NYPD. Although hailed as a hero by many, Bob Leuci is also the most hated cop in American history. 

Did he rat on his colleagues to save his own skin, as many claim, was he motivated by the pursuit of justice or was he used as a pawn to scape goat the rank and file, while their superiors – many of whom are still in power – got off the hook? 

After a lifetime in Witness Protection, Bob Leuci – and those that despise him – tell their story. Using past and present testimonies, dramatic archive, stylised recreations and a killer 1970’s soundtrack, Blue Code of Silence will bring this story of corruption and betrayal to life.

The Grand Experiment

There is a grand experiment underway, the birth of a new financial market, one that promises to solve society’s most complex, intractable problems. An unorthodox marriage between capitalism and charity, The Grand Experiment tracks a social innovation that has won the backing of both conservative and liberal governments, support from renowned philanthropists like the Rockefeller Foundation, and buy-in from Wall Street’s biggest investment bank, Goldman Sachs.

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are an investment product designed to raise private capital for social programs. Governments pay investors a return only if the programs decrease public expenditures by improving social outcomes, for example lowering the number of unemployed or prisoners. The profit paid by government to the investor is commensurate with the success of the social program.

From the halls of power to society’s struggling underclass, The Grand Experiment follows an unusual cast of characters forging previously unthinkable alliances: social workers and Wall Street bankers, the homeless and venture capitalists, conservative and liberal politicians. Over three years – in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom – this feature film tracks their efforts to use profit motivation to solve everything from crime to addiction to homelessness.

——————————-

Sir Ronald Cohen is the creator of social impact bonds, and leader of the international SIB revolution. As chair of the newly formed G8 Taskforce on Impact Investment, he’s been charged with igniting impact investing around the globe. Credited with creating the global venture capital market, Sir Cohen believes impact investing will be a democratizing force giving equal opportunity to all.  By enticing investors with the lure of a double bottom line, he aims to bridge the gap between rich and poor.

At Melody Elementary School on Chicago’s west side, we’ll follow Kindergarten children through a school year in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. These students and their parents are part of a program designed to reduce the city’s special education costs. Goldman Sachs and local venture capitalists have invested $17 million in the Chicago bond.  If the children test well, they’ll make a profit, which they hope will galvanize a global impact investment market.

For head teacher Michelle Stewin, the money is a chance to keep their program alive. Poverty, unemployment, and homelessness, have stacked the cards against her students.  Will the teachers and children at Melody get the test scores they need to keep the money flowing?

In Canada, the Ontario government is looking to launch its first social impact bond. We have negotiated exclusive access to film the final selection process, as four short-listed non-profits work with finance consultants to hone their business case and pitch to investors. The finalists are attacking a wide range of confounding social problems: generational unemployment, habitual young offenders, and chronic homelessness.

In the UK, Sir Cohen’s creation is facing growing opposition.  Some labour unions and non-profits are accusing the British Cabinet Office of pursuing a privatization agenda, and opening up government coffers to society’s wealthiest individuals. In the United States, academics have questioned the metrics used to pay Goldman Sachs a maximum return on the country’s first successful SIB.

Despite the concerns surrounding SIBs, they are the fastest growing social innovation in modern history. Currently there are 53 in more than a dozen countries, including: the UK, U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Israel, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Italy, India and Malaysia.

In Chicago and Ontario, and through the international efforts of Sir Cohen, The Grand Experiment will document one of the most important shifts of the 21st Century. At the heart of this film is one central question: is capitalism the answer to our social problems?

——————————–

Contact us to request full treatment, more screening material, information on broadcast partners, budget, finance plan or any other matters relating to potential partnerships.

——————————–

Director: Nadine Pequeneza
Producer: Nadine Pequeneza
Distributor: Sideways Film
Country of Production: Canada
Language: English
We are looking for: Co-Pro and Pre Sales
Stage of Project: Development
Delivery Date: Dec 2017

——————————–

Key Biographies

Director – Nadine Pequeneza

Nadine Pequeneza is an award-winning Producer, Director and Writer best known for her observational films offering unique access to character-driven stories about social justice. With over 15 years international experience, she has received multiple awards including; a Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Documentary Program, the American Bar Association Silver Gavel, a Gold Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival, a Golden Sheaf from the Yorkton Film Festival, and a Gold Panda from the Sichuan TV Festival. Nadine is a 7-time Canadian Screen Award nominee in both directing and writing categories. Her work has broadcast in more than 50 countries.

As the founder of HitPlay Productions, Nadine has produced and directed the company’s feature documentaries, including: Up In Arms, Inside Disaster, and Raising Cassidy. Her most recent documentary feature, 15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story, premiered in August 2014 on the award-winning PBS series POV. She is currently in production on a film about the legalization of physician assisted dying in Canada for CBC.

Editor – Ricardo Acosta

Ricardo immigrated to Canada from his native Cuba in 1993. He is a Sundance alumni and has edited award-winning documentaries for the past 20 years, including: Sembene! premiered at Sundance and screened at Cannes in 2015.
Marmato won Best Editor in a Documentary from the Canadian Cinema Editor Awards. Herman’s House premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and won an Emmy for best Political Arts documentary.

The Take directed by Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, official selection at the Venice Film Festival and winner of the Canada Screen Award for Best Picture Editing.

Cinematographer – Stan Barua

Stan Barua’s work has attracted accolades and awards on five continents. Born in Poland where he earned his MA in Cinematography from the National Film School in Lodz, he also lived and worked in Kenya before moving to Canada in 1998.
Baba’s House Best Cinematography Award, Yorkton Short Film Festival; Eastman Kodak Cinematography Award, Houston International Film Festival; Best Canadian Short Drama Award, Atlantic Film Festival.

Rain Best Atlantic Canada Short Film Award, Atlantic Film Festival. Forgotten Places Best Cinematography Award, Warsaw Terra Film Festival.

Driverless

Over 40,000 people will die from car crashes in the U.S this year; the leading cause of death for young people.

The driverless car’s arrival promises to save many of these lives by eliminating human error, but how will the introduction of such a revolutionary technology shape our cities and influence our behaviour?

From the fascinating history of America’s embrace of the automobile to a present grassroots movement against them, Driverless is a documentary that seeks to look beyond the engineering marvel and ask, in what kind of world do we want to live and are we driving down a road that will get us there?