Goethe-Kino (Online - Only Available in the UK)
A compelling documentary that allows us detailed insight in the complex work of investigative journalists at a major German newspaper as they follow three different international stories of which one will cause turmoil in the government of a European country.
Films about journalists form a genre of their own. One of the most famous examples is probably Alan J Pekula's
All the President's Men about the uncovering of the Watergate affair by Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Even though we often get our news condensed doses via social media these days and newspapers are struggling to survive, investigative journalism persists. How important it is and how it can work is compellingly shown by director Daniel Sager using the example of the
Süddeutsche Zeitung (
SZ) and in particular the work of journalists Frederik Obermeier and Bastian Obermayer, through whom the Panama Papers (2016) and the Paradise Papers (2017) were leaked to the
SZ.
Over the course of two years, Sager followed his protagonists and other journalists pursuing three different investigations, each of which highlights different issues and problems of investigative work. The joint effort with colleagues from other newspapers to solve the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia highlights the risk of journalistic work. Verifying the relevance of a mysterious arms manufacturer and dealer poses the question of how ideologically coloured the information provided by secret services is. And finally, the third, central story confronts the journalists and the newspaper with the question of whether they should publish video material leaked to them by unknown whistleblowers. Are they being instrumentalised or are they acting in the public interest? After all, this is not least about the fall of a government. Everything is scrutinised, a digital forensic expert examines the material, a lawyer checks the legal implications of its publication. How do you have to phrase something to avoid the story blowing up in your face?
Daniel Sager avoids dramatizing the tension of the journalists, but through the closeness the film creates and the conversations we listen to we get a sense of their underlying nervousness. The film remains largely observational, only in some moments do the journalists explain what they are planning or what has just happened. The camera often follows them through corridors to offices and hotel rooms. Passages that make palpable how long the ways to the truth are.
Germany 2021, colour, 90 min, with English subtitles.
Directed by Daniel Sager, written by Marc Bauder and Daniel Sager. With Bastian Obermayer, Frederik Obermaier, Edward Snowden and others.
Daniel Sager is a film director and producer. He creates documentary films for cinema, streaming platforms and tv. He covered stories from war-torn and crisis regions, including Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, South Sudan, Mexico or Colombia. Born in Berlin and raised in Moscow, he studied ethnology and philosophy before embarking on his film directing studies at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. His diploma film, The Long Distance received the First Steps Award. His debut film, Behind the Headlines was shortlisted for the German Film Award. His latest film, Inventing Truth about one of the biggest media scandals of our time, had its world premiere at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen. Daniel is currently preparing his first fiction feature film. (source: www.danielsager.com)
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