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Field of Vision + Bertha/BRITDOC + Kallithea Films Announce
#ThisIsACoup
**First episode premieres globally today at the Field of Vision Website:
https://theintercept.com/fieldofvision/episode-one-angela-suck-our-balls/
Next 3 Episodes Release Over the Next 3 Days **
Field of Vision and journalist Paul Mason present the story of Greece's
2015 confrontation with the EU
Director Theopi Skarlatos and producer Paul Mason present #ThisIsACoup,
a four part documentary series telling the story of how the European
Union destroyed the first radical left government in modern history.
Granted extraordinary access to key politicians from the Syriza party
(including prime minister Alexis Tsipras), Skarlatos weaves interviews
grabbed in the thick of the action with the stories of three Greek
citizens who had hope in the party when it came to power. The series
points to a central fact: the Greeks exercised their democratic right to
say no to austerity, and Europe unleashed an economic war to smash them.
#ThisIsACoup will be released free as 4 daily online episodes from
December 15th - 18th as part of Field of Vision's mission to share
urgent journalistic stories through creative documentary filmmaking.
Field of Vision is a filmmaker-driven visual journalism film unit
co-created by Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook that pairs
filmmakers with developing and ongoing stories around the globe.
The Series
In January 2015 Syriza, a radical left party, won the Greek elections.
With over 50% youth unemployment, massive public debts and ordinary
people suffering under economic austerity measures, the new government
had a mandate to change the system. #ThisIsACoup tells the story of
how they won, what they did, how they clashed with the global finance
system to whom the Greek state is heavily indebted and how it ended. We
had extraordinary access to leading Syriza politicians through the
nightmare of negotiations and compromise. We filmed the elation and the
despair. And we documented the lives of real people and communities: on
the waterfront, in the countryside, and in tough neighbourhoods of
Athens. The extraordinary resilience of the Greek people - in retreat
but not defeated - is a key message of the film.
Episode 1: Angela, Suck our Balls
Syriza comes to power with Greece still deep in debt. Their supporters
rejoice as Prime Minister Tspiras and the Finance Minister Varoufakis
talk about defying the Troika (the European Commission, European Central
Bank and the International Monetary Fund which organised loans to
Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Cyprus after the crash) but an escalating
bank run undermines their negotiating position and Syriza is forced to
concede most of their demands. What will happen when their supporters
find out?
Episode 2: To Pay or Not To Pay?
With the clash with the lenders on hold for four months, some Greeks
take to the streets to organise resistance themselves. Syriza's most
senior woman MP Zoe Konstantopoulou travels Europe's capitals trying to
persuade people the debt is illegal and should be dropped. As the crunch
looms, Tsipras opens up about his worries and predicts they will run out
of money by the end of May. Almost on cue, as June begins, Syriza
defaults on its debt to the IMF and the "rupture" begins.
Episode 3: OXI - The Greek word for "No"
The crunch is here. A new bank run is draining the banks, while the
state is almost out of cash. Varoufakis speaks privately about launching
an offensive of debt defaults, but instead Tsipras calls a referendum,
which leaves the government fighting for its life. Against all odds he
wins a crushing victory, but as the minister celebrate, Varoufakis is
sacked. What does Tsipras intend to do next?
Episode 4: Hero for One Day
Tsipras reveals his strategy - to seek a new compromise. As the
government flounders, its supporters get worried - and angry. With
Tsipras trapped in 17 hour negotiations a historic twitter protest takes
place, involving up to a billion people, naming the lenders attack on
Greece a "coup". As Tsipras signs a new austerity deal and accepts
defeat, his supporters are stunned. The party splits and the key players
struggle to draw the lessons. Without debt relief Syriza will be left to
impose yet another destructive austerity programme - the very thing it
fought for years to oppose. In an exclusive first English interview
since the climbdown Tsipras gives his own explanation of why things went
wrong. "I'd have been a hero for one day, maybe two," he says to critics
of the u-turn, as without it the Greek economy would have collapsed.
***
Paul Mason
"The Greek people believed they could beat austerity by voting against
it. Europe gave them a choice: regime change or we destroy your economy."
Paul is the Economics Editor for Channel 4 News and has led their
coverage on the Greek crisis. He won the Royal Television Society
specialist reporter of 2012 award for his coverage of the Eurozone
crisis. He has a weekly column in the Guardian. For Channel 4 News and
before that the BBC he has reported on social and political conflicts,
including the Gaza war 2014, the refugee crisis in Morocco, ethnic
conflict in Kenya and from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Theopi Skarlatos
Theopi Skarlatos is a reporter, documentary film-maker, and founder of
Kallithea Films. Her documentary #ThisIsACoup tells the story of the
showdown between Greece and the global financial elite in 2015. Her
previous documentary Love in the Time Of Crisis (2014) covers the social
disintegration of Greece under austerity. She has worked for the BBC,
Channel 4 and numerous independent production companies, As well as
covering the economic crisis in both Greece and Cyprus, she has reported
from destinations as varied as Rwanda, Iraqi Kurdistan and Jamaica.
Follow Theopi on Facebook, Twitter, and her writing via Medium.
Field of Vision
Field of Vision is a filmmaker-driven visual journalism film unit
co-created by Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook that pairs
filmmakers with developing and ongoing stories around the globe. Field
of Vision commissions and creates short and episodic films that uses
visual journalism to expand how we understand the world, and works with
leading filmmakers to take on developing and ongoing stories as they
unfold. Launched in September 2015, Field of Vision is a collaboration
with The Intercept and First Look Media.
BRITDOC
BRITDOC is based in London and New York and supports independent
documentary filmmakers from around the world. BRITDOC is a non-profit
organisation that collaborates with the Bertha Foundation to fund
documentary journalism including CITIZENFOUR, Virunga, No Fire Zone and
Dirty Wars, Pussy Riot, The Square, The Look of Silence, 3.5 Minutes and
10 Bullets. Other BRITDOC projects include the global Good Pitch events
that partner filmmakers with social impact partners and Doc Academy
which brings documentaries to the classroom. http://britdoc.org.
ROAST BEEF
Roast Beef Productions have been producing international feature
documentaries films since 2007 - these include; Afghan Star, Hell and
Back Again, Smash & Grab - The Story of the Pink Panthers, A Whole Lott
More, The Do Gooders, Tierra Caliente, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, The
Square, The Russian Woodpecker. Roast Beef have won a number of industry
awards including; 2 Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary
Feature 2012/13, 7 Sundance Awards, 4 EMMYs, 2 Grierson Awards for Best
Documentary, Prix Italia, The Alfred Dupont Award, Winner Best
Documentary Moscow Film Festival, Winner BIFA 2013 Best Documentary,
Broadcast Award - Best Documentary of the Year 2014.
***
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