ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
An American filmmaker returns to the Balkans 25 years after he became a paid propagandist for a repressive regime and is forced to confront his personal failings. He works to expose the people and power mechanisms behind the poisonous environment of disinformation that today incites hatred and violence.

SYNOPSIS
An American filmmaker becomes a paid propagandist for a repressive Balkan government. 25 years later he returns to understand how it all went wrong. That filmmaker is Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker Joe Tripician, the director of this film.

Once Joe heard stories from harassed journalists who had their cars bombed and people who were burned alive in their homes for being the wrong nationality, he realized that he couldn't go through with it, even if he desperately needed the money. By making this film Joe hopes to do more than he did 25 years ago.

The camera follows Joe retracing his steps through the Balkans as he confronts the architects of this propaganda campaign to pry the truth from them about its real goal.

The film’s tone travels between darkly comic and deadly serious as Joe journeys through absurd celebrations of war criminals and exposes the dangers of genocide deniers.

Joe also meets a new generation of propaganda peddlers and disinformation dealers who are currently spreading lies in the service of the highest bidder. Their clients are powerful people that want to maintain and expand their power. Every country in the region, and increasingly many across the world, are engaged in this form of historical falsification.

At the end of Joe’s journey secrets are revealed and he begins anew, working with young journalists, teaching them documentary filmmaking skills and the importance of a free press.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Joe Tripician
SCREENWRITER Sven Milekic, Joe Tripician
PRODUCER Amira Kudumovic, Joe Tripician