165. Kym Staton, Filmaker: Tragedy and injustice of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks
This conversation features award winning film director Kym Staten, who's based in Australia. Kim has devoted nine years to the documentary industry. He's the founder and director of Films4Change, an educational enterprise that's been operating since 2014. And initially Films4Change was a hybrid distributor bringing live in person cinema screenings. of documentary films to 90, 90 cities across the world, including Australia, New Zealand, New Zealand, the UK and America. During the pandemic, Films4Change evolved into streaming with their platform, Films4Change.stream, launching in May 2020. (https://filmsforchange.stream/) In 2021, Kim put himself behind a camera and a pen and he lends his highly trained eye for subject interpretation and narrative to direct his first documentary. The Trust Fall, includes eight animations and 23 interviews with Kim directing, co producing and writing the powerful narration for the film. (https://www.cinemanova.com.au/films/mdff-trust-fall-julian-assange-the) This powerful film has won various awards and continues to be shown in festivals all around the world as it gears up for cinema release. We have watched quite a few films about Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and whilst most made us feel predominantly very angry, The striking thing about this film was it also made us feel deeply sad. Key points from the conversation; The film discusses the mistreatment and violation of due process in Julian Assange's case, including manipulation of evidence. - The film includes animation to provide a brief overview of the history of free speech. - WikiLeaks is known for publishing accurate and thoroughly researched documents. - The filmmaker reached out to various individuals, including John Shipton, Daniel Ellsberg, Tariq Ali, Nils Melzer, and John Pilger, to be interviewed for the film. - The film focuses on the treatment of Julian Assange and the decline of press freedom. - The filmmaker wanted to explore the reasons behind Julian Assange's persecution and the lessons to be learned from his exposures. - The accusations of rape against Julian Assange were seen as a way to destroy his character. - The plan to destroy Julian Assange and WikiLeaks involved a team of individuals assigned to the task. The United States has played a significant role in various aspects discussed. Here are some key points: The United States has been at war for a significant portion of its existence, with 235 out of 247 years being marked by war. The U.S. has been responsible for 20 million deaths, although it is not specified in what context or time period. The U.S. has 750 overseas military bases, indicating its global military presence. The film highlights the shocking figures related to the Iraq war, including three million deaths (with 80% being civilians), five million orphans, and nine million refugees. The film also features footage of unarmed civilians being murdered by American forces, which is described as a war crime and embarrassing for the U.S. government. The U.S. government is implicated in the plan to destroy Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, with evidence of a task force assigned to this purpose. The U.S. government is accused of covering up the truth about the killing of civilians in New Baghdad in 2007, where Reuters journalists were mistaken for carrying weapons and were shot down. The document does not provide a comprehensive overview of the United States' involvement in various global events or its foreign policy. It focuses on specific aspects related to war, military presence, and the treatment of Julian Assange.