The Why

documentaries

30 Jan – 25 Feb

The Confession (2016)

Ashish Ghadiali

Run Time: 45 min

Islamist or activist? A profound and disturbing interview with a complex man.

The Brit Moazzam Begg has been imprisoned for years on suspicion of terrorist sympathies and for being a member of Al-Qaeda. He has since been acquitted of all charges. ‘The Confession’ is a profound and immensely detailed interview with the clearly intelligent, well-spoken and politically well-informed Begg. A man who answers questions about Jihadi sympathies by insisting on the right of countries like Iraq and Afghanistan to defend themselves against foreign invaders. And who has spent much of his adult life in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Syria – and in prison. But who is he? The last question is left to you to answer, but Begg is a man who embodies the staggering complexity that makes the West’s self-proclaimed ‘war against terror’ a hornet’s nest of self-contradictions. Begg gives us clear and concise answers, and no matter if you agree with him or not – and it’s likely that you won’t – there is plenty of material in the film’s marathon interview that is bound to make you question your own world view.

Accidental Anarchist (2017)

John Archer, Clara Glynn

Run Time: 45 min

From diplomat to anarchist and from disillusioned to activist. Around the world with the British Carne Ross in search of direct democracy.

Carne Ross was a government highflyer. A career diplomat who believed Western Democracy could save us all. But working inside the system he came to see its failures, deceits and ulterior motives. He witnessed first-hand the corruption of power. After the Iraq War Carne became disillusioned, quit his job and started searching for answers. This film traces his journey across the globe as he tries to find an answer to the question – isn’t there a better way? For Carne there is. Anarchism offers a solution to the brutalities of Capitalism and the dishonesty of Democracy. It offers a world where people have control over their own lives. From the protesters of Occupy Wall Street, to an anarchist collective in Spain, to Noam Chomsky, the grand old man of anarchism himself, Carne finds people who are putting the theory into practice. His journey eventually takes him to one of the most dangerous places on earth – Syria, eight kilometres from the front line with ISIS, where a remarkable anarchist state has risen phoenix like from the ashes. A powerful film about one man’s epic journey from government insider to anarchist.