Tag Archives: World

Eminent Monsters

Eminent Monsters traces the roots of western governments love affair with torture.

In  1950s Montreal Scottish born psychiatrist Dr. Ewen Cameron experimented on his patients, using sensory deprivation, forced comas and LSD injections. Covertly funded by the Canadian government and the CIA, his techniques have been used in Northern Ireland, Guantánamo and 27 countries around the world.

Including extraordinary first hand testimony from Guantanamo survivors, the Hooded Men from Northern Ireland and senior American psychologists and military personnel, Eminent Monsters shows how the collusion of doctors to aid and abet torture began in the 1950s and continues to this day.

Fatal Flaws: Legalising Assisted Death

Should we be giving doctors the right to end the lives of others by euthanasia or assisted suicide?

Fatal Flaws: Legalising Assisted Death is a thought-provoking journey through Europe and North America to find answers to this question.

Some 20 years after these laws were introduced, even
some of the most loyal supporters of assisted dying
are questioning where these laws are taking us.

The grandfather of euthanasia in the Netherlands, Dr. Boudewijn Chabot speaks of a ‘worrisome culture shift’ and that euthanasia is ‘getting out of hand’ – especially as it relates to patients with psychiatric issues.

The cost of ongoing treatment is putting pressure on an already fraught decision making process, and the many are questioning the motives of those tasked with making the decisions.

Meanwhile, the suicidal can simply ‘shop around’ until they find the decision they are looking for, or more worryingly – others can do the same for those they are tasked with caring for.

With powerful testimonies and expert opinion from both sides of the issue, Fatal Flaws: Legalising Assisted Death uncovers how these highly disputed laws affect society over time.

In the Executioners Shadow

In the Executioner’s Shadow casts a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful stories –  a former state executioner who comes within days of executing an innocent person; a Boston Marathon bombing victim who struggles to decide what justice really means; and the parents of a murder victim who choose to fight for the life of their daughter’s killer.

As the battle over capital punishment heats up, this provocative film challenges viewers to question their deepest beliefs about the meaning of justice.

Body a la Carte

We live in a world where self-image has become an obsession, where we can no longer ignore the role that science and technology play in our never-ending quest for beauty and youth.

Through touching and meaningful stories, as well as the testimonies of plastic surgeons, and interviews with experts from related fields, Body à La Carte explores the increasingly popular and fascinating phenomenon of cosmetic procedures.

In a booming industry where plastic surgery is just another product to purchase, who knows when we will bite? Even the sceptics have mirrors.

End of Truth

“They are gone.” These are the words that propelled photojournalist Nicole Tung into a daunting situation which nothing could have prepared her for. Masked men wielding Kalashnikovs had abducted her friends John Cantlie and James Foley while they were en route from Syria back into Turkey. Nicole had been nervously waiting for their arrival at the border. Instantly, their fate rested upon her ability to find out who captured her friends and how to get them back alive.

The abductions of John Cantlie and James Foley were the beginning of a hostage taking frenzy which impacted the foreign policy of many countries.  Because of media blackouts surrounding the kidnappings, many others unwittingly ventured forth into hostile ISIS territory. Fixers were targeted, causing people who thought they were safe to be captured. These unsuspecting journalists and aid workers were thrown into a dark and desperate situation that ended horribly for those whose countries didn’t pay ransom. These crimes revealed what can happen when truths are obscured – causing negotiations and rescue missions to go horribly wrong.

End of Truth is an emotionally powerful investigation into the political and criminal enterprise of kidnappings as ISIS rose to power in war torn Syria. By intercutting exclusive footage with intimate interviews of negotiators, investigators, fixers and even a used car salesman who are caught up in the confusion, we examine the leads that led to lies revealing the terrible consequence of misinformation when lives are at stake.

Bad Hombres

Bad Hombres explores the most heavily used migration route on Earth. Journalist Stef Biemans traveled between Guatemala and the US to see what the so-called ‘bad hombres’ hope to find in the USA.
Who are the people who inspired the building of a wall on the Mexican border?

“Biemans stays calm at all times and defers to his subjects. The result is rich and integral television, sometimes moving and always captivating”

De Volkskrant

Also available as a five part series:

Episode One:

Episode Two:

Episode Three:

Episode Four:

Episode Five:

Rise of the Trolls

Has internet anonymity unleashed a ‘dark demon’ lurking in all of us? A film that reveals the hard truths surrounding anonymity, dark instincts and freedom on the internet.

Smartphones have put the internet into our pockets and billions of people around the world are now connected online. Our lives have improved greatly, but this “freedom” has also made us vulnerable to a new kind of predator – the internet troll. Hiding behind a veil of anonymity, trolls indulge their darkest impulses, attacking whoever they want with impunity. Once you become the target of a Troll, what starts as a minor annoyance can escalate into a living nightmare. But who are Trolls? And will the fight to stop them destroy our personal freedoms? In Rise of the Trolls we meet:

  • One of the internet’s most notorious trolls, who spends hours every week insulting and infuriating as many people as he can – just for the laughs
  • Britain’s most notorious Troll. A young woman who was jailed in England for sending six threatening tweets.
  • The very first recorded troll in internet history, who led a digital ‘invasion’ of a cat lover’s chat board.
  • A feminist blogger whose trolls are ramping up their tactics to harass her family.
  • A Canadian psychologist who published the first ever study of internet trolls, uncovering the four dark personality traits that drive trolls in their cruelty.
  • An accused Twitter troll whose precedent-setting court case will affect freedom of speech online worldwide.
  • A digital forensics expert who tracks down the most technically adept trolls.

Rise of the Trolls from Sideways Film on Vimeo.

BAKUR: Inside the PKK

Shot in secret, BAKUR: Inside the PKK is the worlds first documentary made with inside access to the Kurdish separatist group, who are considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and NATO. The result is an inside look at the undeclared war going on in Turkey for decades. This was the first time any film crew had ever accessed these camps.

To date, the PKK has lost over 30 thousand of its members in combat against the Turkish State. What is the PKK’s perception of the state, justice and authority? What constitutes the foundation of their relationship to the people? How did the Kurdish movement evolve over the years into a battle for freedom founded on the women’s rights movement? How do the guerrillas who have been living under wartime conditions for 40 years manage to survive all year-round in the harsh outdoor living conditions in the mountains?

In search for answers to all of these questions, BAKUR: Inside the PKK introduces the audience to men and women who have chosen to join the armed resistance in order to create a new future. We witness life in three guerrilla camps located in three different regions of Kurdish territory within the Turkish borders.

Beautifully shot over months, we follow the lives of guerrilla fighters including the training and graduation of new recruits, their justice system and the progressive philosophies that guide them.

 

BAKUR: Inside the PKK from Sideways Film on Vimeo.

The Sacred City

The Sacred City presents compelling evidence that suggests the holy city of Mecca is in the wrong location and that the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims are praying in the direction of the wrong city. Compiling evidence from both historic sources and new technologies point to the correct location in this seismic, revelatory new film.

In this startling and original documentary, writer and historian, Dan Gibson, shows that descriptions of Mohamed’s original holy city – as detailed in the Qur’an and Islamic histories, do not match that of the Mecca we know today.  If true this could shake Islam to it’s roots, because every Muslim is required to pray towards  the ‘forbidden gathering place’. If Dan Gibson is right, Muslims are praying in the wrong direction.

In the film ‘The Sacred City’ we set out his evidence from within Islamic and ancient histories – while also using modern technologies –  to track down the biggest secret of the last fifteen hundred years. Gibson not only finds the location of the original Mecca but also provides a convincing argument as to how such a great misunderstanding in Islamic history came about.

While clearly controversial, The Sacred City is respectful of Islam’s prophet, and does not dispute the events of the Qur’an; but shows how a deliberate attempt was made to hide from Islam, secrets that impact every Muslim today. The evidence is compelling and fascinating.

In a time when the world agenda is being set by Islam, it is more important than ever for the origins and history of this world religion to be examined afresh. This is an important documentary with world-wide appeal for both religious and secular audiences.

Beautifully filmed in the ruins and deserts of the middle east, the film is a detective story that investigates the dawn of Islam and will become the most talked about film for years to come.

The Sacred City from Sideways Film on Vimeo.

Call Me Dad

Can violent men change? Call Me Dad is a film that takes its audience to the most delicate and painful place inside a parent’s heart. A place where good intentions and hope are pitted against entrenched and tormenting cycles of violence.

For some of these fathers, their fists are their weapons. For others, words and manipulation are most potent, used as part of a sustained pattern of intimidation, threats, and abuse intended to isolate, diminish and control the people they love. Now these men are seeking change. They have come together to talk, share information, challenge and support each other to be better men, partners and fathers to their children.

The group’s founder and facilitator David Nugent believes that women and children have the right to live their lives free from violence, and that men can change if they have the will and opportunity to do so. He challenges men to take ownership of their abusive and violent behaviours, and shows them that they can make different choices, and in doing so, can stop the cycle of violence.

David draws these men deep into conversation about the underbelly of patriarchal forms of masculinity, and the ways in which sexism can harm and diminish women, and constrict and isolate men.

Together the participants in David’s program are reaching for the courage and knowledge they need to be good partners, and good fathers. These men have taken the brave and difficult decision to confront their behaviours and histories head-on. These Dads are fighting to change the story for the next generation. Can these men re-establish ‘family’?

Victor’s Last Class

At the age of 52 and suffering from terrible chronic back pain, Victor D’Altorio decided to end his life.

Victor was a proud homosexual, a lover of life, honest, and outrageous. As an acting teacher of the Meisner technique for 20 years, he was committed to living in the moment, and accepting all that that had to offer, however painful it may be. But after fighting bone marrow cancer into remission he found himself with debilitating degenerative disc disorder in his neck and back, and he could not deny the pain that he was in or the dim prospects of relief. His personal commitment to truth and honesty made him despise the idea of suicide in the traditional sense. He simply could not cause that pain to the ones he loved. He decided to tell everyone (via his blog) that he was going to kill himself. This is the starting point for our story.

Over the next five months together we see Vic soaking in the tub in pain, making sex jokes, yelling at the cameraman, crying over his deceased partner, teaching eager new students, wavering on the big choice, and bonding with Brendan, the film maker. During this time, Brendan’s mission changes. He stops being simply the filmmaker asking why, and becomes a close friend trying to change Victor’s mind. Brendan puts together an acting class for Victor to teach to remind him of the life he once loved living, he teams with other students to produce the play that Victor had written, he does all he can to convince his new friend and mentor to stick around.