New documentary shines light on Julian Assange
Image: THE TRUST FALL: JULIAN ASSANGE film still
By KYE ANSON
Not much is known about the personal life of WikiLeaks Founder and political prisoner, Julian Assange, who is currently awaiting a decision by the UK’s High Court regarding his extradition to the U.S for exposing a plethora of war crimes.
What we do know, is that he has become the one of the most controversial and feared investigative journalists in history, with links to the 2016 U.S presidential campaign, which, many argue, cost Hillary Clinton the election.
He has been labelled a threat to U.S national security for releasing over 250,000 confidential documents, and was also connected to a sexual assault allegation in Sweden, later dismissed by Swedish authorities due to lack of evidence.
Assange has paved the way for others like him to speak out on war crimes. Following his lead, David Mcbride, former British Army Major and Australian Army lawyer, revealed confidential Australian Defence Force documents now described as “The Afghan Files”.
All that and more is told in Australian director, Kym Staton’s documentary The Trust Fall: Julian Assange, his film directing debut. It is centred around the final stages of Assange’s court case and the public campaign for his release.
It also contains footage from an interview with a victim of the “Collateral Murder” incident. Collateral Murder is the title of a classified video released by Wikileaks in 2010 which reveals a US airstrike that killed innocent people in Baghdad in 2007. It sparked global outrage.
The Trust Fall: Julian Assange features an extensive list of crucial figures in Assange’s life, such as his partner, Stella Assange, the aforementioned whistle-blower, David Mcbride, and Assange’s equally outspoken father, John Shipton. It features high profile narrators including: American actor Susan Sarandon, Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), rapper M.I.A and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine).
The film also contains key experts in journalism and writing, with the likes of Tariq Ali, John Pilger and Jennifer Robinson, each delving deep into the culmination of the eerie narrative concerning Julian Assange.
In an interview with the BBC, Staton states his inspiration for the film was to correct the information surrounding Julian Assange and the reason for his imprisonment.
“What was lacking amongst documentaries that are being made on this topic is a film that really focuses on the meaning and interpretation on what we can learn from this predicament.[…] The U.S government have been running a campaign for thirteen years now, of arbitrary detainment in one form or another, in order to put WikiLeaks and Julian Assange out of action.”
The Films for Change director has already made the rounds at several film festivals, winning Best Emerging Director at Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Best First-Time Director at the Cine Paris Film Festival and official selection at Warsaw Film Festival.
The film is currently in limited screenings.
