"I got nothing against money. I don't mind paying bribes to politicians. The thing about politicians is they are very much like prostitutes, just more expensive." (From the film)
What is the actual cost of war? How much do we know about the international weapons trade? Shadow World, partly based on Andrew Feinstein's book 'The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade,' and narrated by famous Latin American author Eduardo Galeano, looks deep into this trade through the testimony of whistleblowers, detectives, and government and military officials. The film explains how the trade only exists because of the approval and even cooperation of states and media empires; undermines the industry's self-portrait as a provider of security to the masses; and exposes how democracies have been overridden and wars started since the 1980s just to increase profits. These are facts that are crucial for the world's future, and for our safety -- and you won't see them on the TV news bulletins.
2016 EDINBURGH, TRIBECA, SAN FRANCISCO, VANCOUVER, IDFA
Belgian artist Johan Grimonprez earned his MFA in Video & Mixed Media in New York. His other feature documentaries are Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997) and Double Take (2009). Traveling the main festival circuit from the Berlinale to Sundance, they garnered several Best Director awards, the 2005 ZKM International Media Award, a Spirit Award and the 2009 Black Pearl Award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
