Contemporary artist Trevor Paglen is known for his political and mind-blowing art pieces on global mass surveillance, data collection, and artificial intelligence. This visually stunning and immersive documentary feature film follows Paglen as he travels through the desolate Nevada desert while discussing the motivation for his latest and most audacious project: launching a satellite into orbit. Stunning cinematography, trippy computer graphics, and an atmospheric score imbue this compelling documentary with an ethereal tone that perfectly captures the provocative and breathtaking beauty of Paglen’s work.
Yaara Bou Melhem is an award-winning filmmaker based in Sydney, Australia whose work has received two UN Media Peace Awards, two New York Film & Television Festival Awards and five Walkley Awards.
Yaara’s wrote, directed and produced feature-length documentary, UNSEEN SKIES (2021) which interrogates the inner workings of mass surveillance, computer vision and artificial intelligence. Production partners include Participant (USA). It was nominated for Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival and is now represented by Magnolia International after a successful film festival run.
Yaara has also directed and produced documentary shorts including WAR ON TRUTH (2019) about Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Maria Ressa and the Filipino editor’s global campaign against disinformation. She recently wrote, directed and co-produced THE WHITELEY ART SCANDAL (2023), a 2 x 1hr series about one of Australia’s biggest art crime fraud trials for the ABC.
Yaara turned to filmmaking after 15-years as a long-form broadcast journalist working for some of the most acclaimed international current affairs programs including SBS Dateline, ABC Foreign Correspondent and 101 East, Al Jazeera English. She holds degrees in Journalism and Law.
San Francisco International Film Festival (2021)
Sydney Film Festival (2021)
CPH DOX (2022)
Full Frame Festival (2022)
Doc Edge (2022)
Best Documentary Nominee, San Francisco International Film Festival (2021)
Best Documentary Nominee, Sydney Film Festival (2021)
Canon Award for Best Cinematography, Millenium Docs Against Gravity (2022)
Best Original Soundtrack Nominee, ARIA (2023)
Most Innovative Factual Program Nominee, World Congress of Science & Factual Producers (2022)
"'Visually stunning and informatively awakening.'"
Julia Mann, DOX 2020
"'An incisive look at how difficult it can be to surveil your surveillants.'"
Alex Greenberger, Art News
"'An insightful look into the artist's process...revealing and quietly disturbing.'"
James Fletcher, Film Ink
Writer, Director, Producer - Yaara Bou Melhem
Producer - Ivan O'Mahoney
Executive Producer - Diane Weyermann
Director of Photography - Tom Bannigan
Composer - Helena Czajka
