Through the voices of survivors, journalists, and excerpts of legal depositions, Diabolical dips its toes into the world of the Epstein Files--a partially released collection of millions of documents, images, videos, e-mails, and other records pertaining to criminal investigations undertaken by the FBI of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The records were reluctantly released after much political pressure, and millions of files are still yet to be made public. Many of the world's billionaires, and most powerful figures in politics and mainstream culture appear in the files, as persons in the orbit of Epstein and his life trafficking teenage girls for sex. The film lays bare how the rich evade the legal and justice system with their wealth and power, and raises some conspiratorial questions about just who Epstein was, along with his connection to power and influence in the United States.
Lethal Force takes a detailed look at four incidents, in different parts of Australia, where people suffering mental illness or psychological distress died after being shot or tasered by police. Specifically detailed is how in certain cases, the victims had even sought help at hospital and after having left of their own free will, were shot dead by police...
The Big Lie
When the hired guns of British American Tobacco came to Australia to appeal a decision in favour of a terminally-ill wife and mother, they didn't stop once they had the award overturned. They then set out to pursue the family of Rolah McCabe in order to cover their own legal costs in the case. Combining tense legal action with the highly-charged emotional fallout that is the legacy of those who put themselves in the sights of Big Tobacco, The Big Lie is an eloquent essay in deceit and corporate thuggery.
From the courtroom to the lounge room--helped extensively by television and the infamous series "CSI"--forensic science brims with flash and glamour, where cutting-edge technology always reveals the "truth," and is routinely called on to solve the most difficult criminal cases with ease and "objectivity." But how reliable is the science behind forensics and its methods as they interface with the legal system? The Real CSI investigates these questions and finds serious flaws in some of the best-known tools of forensics, with systemic inconsistencies in how evidence is presented in the courtroom, along with how the culture of entertainment of this sort can seriously skew a jury's perceptions. From the sensational murder trial of Casey Anthony, to the FBI's botched investigation of the Madrid bombing, to capital cases in rural Mississippi of the United States; The Real CSI documents how a field with few standards and unproven science can seriously undermine the concept of justice, and what this means for a future of continued technological escalation...
McCarthy chronicles the rise and fall of Joseph McCarthy, the United States senator who came to power after a stunning victory in an election that no one thought he could win. Once in office, he declared that there was a vast conspiracy threatening the United States--not emanating from a rival superpower, but from within. Then, without restraint or oversight, he conducted a vast crusade against those he accused of being "enemies of the state," a chilling campaign marked by groundless accusations, bullying, intimidation, grandiose showmanship, and cruel victimisation. With lawyer Roy Cohn at his side, McCarthy belittled critics, spinning a web of lies and distortions while spreading fear and confusion. After years in the headlines, he was brought down by his own excesses and overreach.
Abused
Abused--Battered Woman's Syndrome and Murder is a revelatory film showing how the legal system of this culture treats women who fight back against their abusers. 19 year-old Susan Greenberg pled guilty to killing the man who systematically abused her and was sentenced to twenty-five years to life for first degree murder. After serving 18 years in prison, Greenberg was one of the first women to test a new state law that allows women convicted of murder to ask a judge for release based on evidence of Battered Woman Syndrome. This story follows her struggle and the surprising dramatic results.
Epstein's Shadow is a short series that investigates the powerful, connected, and mysterious Ghislaine Maxwell, who was once the heiress to the media proprietor Robert Maxwell's fortune, but whose life takes a sordid turn after when her father dies and she meets Jeffrey Epstein, the serial sex offender. The series reveal a complicated story of power, sex, money, and corruption, which leads to Ghislaine Maxwell's arrest, and mounds of destruction in her wake, and that of Epstein and his co-conspirators.
For years, the Earth Liberation Front--autonomous individuals operating in separate anonymous cells without any central leadership--carried out spectacular direct-actions against businesses that destroy the environment. Some of the targets were logging corporations, SUV dealerships, ranger stations, a slaughterhouse and a multi-million dollar ski-lodge at Vail, Colorado that was expanding into national forest. As authorities were not able to crack the case and disbanded many years later, the FBI got lucky when they were led to a former activist who agreed to co-operate with them and become an informant. If A Tree Falls provokes hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way 'terrorism' is defined by following the story of the activists who were turned over to the FBI, and their fate...
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal reveals a dangerous athletic culture that prioritised winning over everything else, including protecting young female athletes. For more than 30 years, Larry Nassar worked with gymnasts, as a respected trainer and doctor. He was charming, taught at church, volunteered in the community, and was seemingly well-liked throughout. He treated girls' aches and pains, becoming a friend and confidant to many along the way, while also sexually abusing them during sessions for many years. When some girls began to speak up about their experiences, they were silenced, gaslighted or denied, all the way up to the highest levels of management, across multiple sporting institutions. After many complaints and eventually a cumulative legal investigation, Nassar ends up exposed as a serial sex offender. This film unpacks the scandal, its cover-up, and aftermath, through interviews with dozens of survivors, as well as coaches, lawyers and journalists, as one of the most high-profile paedophile trials in recent years. It documents the grooming, methods, and psychology of a charismatic sexual abuser, as well as the culture that enables and perpetuates it.