Everyday Activist - (T)error (CUFF.Docs 2015)

Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 06:00 PM

(T)error

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

November has been quite the reflective month for me. Part of my decision to leave many of the social media outlets that I used to enjoy has come from Remembrance Day commentary on my Facebook feed. With the latest documentaries to hit theatres and the festival circuit in the last little while, such as The Black Panthers: The Vanguard of Revolution, Deep Web, Imminent Threat and now (T)error I’m left asking myself “where’s the freedom that these soldiers fought for?” Away from the American movies and into life in Canada, we have to look no further than Bill C-24 and Bill C-51 as well as the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). If any of these sound unfamiliar, I suggest reading up on them. They deal serious blows to civil liberties under the guise of collective safety.

(T)error talks about FBI informants infiltrating law abiding citizens because their department grew ten times in size in the last fifteen years since 2001. So what else can you do to justify your existence, except create problems where none exist? A fascinating aspect of this involves an informant, who in the 1960’s worked with the Black Panthers, a group the FBI infiltrated. For all the times he acted against the government, I find it interesting that the government hired him; though I’m not sure how informants sleep at night. In the documentary, a family member whose loved one suffered as a result of this informant, points out he must live in a private, mental prison.

The film makers did a good job of documenting the sting operation as it unfolded, though I felt their beliefs around why they made this film weren’t expressed well. Going to the website http://terrordocumentary.org/the-issue, they have great initiatives in place to make a difference. In future I would love to see to see a recut version where they focus less on the qualifications and tactics of the informant and more on the broader issues at hand, including racism and a civil liberties discussion, which they point out on their website. With any of these initiatives, I worry about the activists’ safety and of those who join them. Deep Web had a great quote from Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer, “In this cat and mouse game, the mice will win in the end, but the cats will be well fed.”

(T)error is part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival's documentary series called CUFF.Docs 2015 and screens Friday, November 20th, 2015 at 9:30 PM at at the Globe Cinema. I know! You were expecting me to mention the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2015, and since CUFF.Docs is the exact same weekend as MLJFF 2015, with some movies at the same venue. CUFF has a couple other films that touch on social justice issues such as Pervert Park and The Sandwich Nazi. Pervert Park made the Calgary Herald’s list of top five movies to watch at CUFF.Docs.

Calgary Showtimes: (T)error >