Review: Hot Docs’ ‘Special Presentations’ demands your attention (Includes first-hand account)

The similarities to video games is not accidental. One man uses the phrase “militainment” to describe the pairing of military-style operations and video games. The distinction thrust upon a drone pilot is the people at the end of their missiles are real. Waziristan is under constant siege, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths. The documentary chronicles their efforts to launch a human rights initiative and lawsuit to prevent U.S. weapons from crossing their borders. It also says psychology of drone strikes is “distance creates indifference,” making it easier for soldiers to execute their orders. However, it also raises the issue of how making murder too easy could affect policymaking in the future. One of the film’s most chilling moments is a pilot’s account of his first kill and subsequent descriptions of cheering superiors. The one component missing is follow-up on the projects featured in the narrative.

However, a few weeks into their investigation, their nightmare is amplified. When the police release blurry photos of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombing, one tweet mistakenly mentions a likeness between one of them and Sunil. The misidentification spirals out of control and without any corroboration becomes a “fact” via social media, namely Reddit. Suddenly reporters are contacting the Tripathis regarding Sunil’s “connection” to the attack. This appalling case highlights the changing world of journalism and its relationship with social media. Reddit-ers wanted to beat traditional media to the story and they did — with a completely unverified account that will forever exist on the Internet. While filmmakers fail to speak to any of Sunil’s accusers, Reddit’s Erik Martin acknowledges they could have done more to control the situation. Through the structure of their narrative and statements made within the picture, filmmakers make it clear there are a lot of lessons to be learned related to mental health, news coverage and social responsibility via Sunil’s unfortunate story.

Since simply watching Alwan speak wouldn’t be very cinematic, they create a lot of re-enactments depicting the events he describes. In addition, his story is traced using images, thumbtacks and string on a bulletin board like it’s a criminal investigation — which it is for some people. When it was discovered the WMDs were fabricated, the U.S. administration singled out Alwan as their source and all blame fell upon him. Conversely, he contends, “War was infinite, so I had to follow the course.” He explains how he obtained the information he divulged, how much of it was true and what happened when it was passed onto American intelligence after 9/11. Almost every minute detail, month-by-month, is examined, which depending on the viewer’s point of view can be either fascinating or overkill. In addition, there are fairly long breaks between questions and answers, which gradually becomes irritating.

Cobb and company’s doctrine is so hateful, the fear it inspires in residents pushes them to in some ways match his behaviour. Interviews with anti-hate and white supremacist groups outside of Leith provide interesting insight into the situation beyond the points of view of the residents. Most surprising is the fair and even depiction of both sides of the story. There are considerable segments, particularly in the first section, in which Cobb et al. could be deemed “ordinary” people — until they once again begin spewing their propaganda for an Aryan nation. There is a priceless moment in the film in which Cobb’s partner in crime’s young daughter is shown at home explaining her homework requires her to list words that begin with the letter “N”; the expectation is obvious, but the outcome is amusing. As a result, it’s a gripping story that has multiple, evenly depicted angles and can act as a warning for future schemes.

Ticket and screening information are available on the Hot Docs website.