Latest news with #EugeneJarecki
France 24
22-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Ramaphosa in the USA: S. African press says 'White genocide dominates face-off'
02:37 22/05/2025 Eugene Jarecki talks about his documentary 'The six billion dollar man' 22/05/2025 Gaza blockade: International pressure mounts on Israeli government 22/05/2025 Washington DC shooting: What is Israeli government's reaction? 22/05/2025 Trump denounces killings of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington Americas 22/05/2025 Trump ambushes Ramaphosa over genocide claims in testy White House meeting 22/05/2025 Aid arrives but falls short of Gazans' needs amid renewed Israeli strikes 22/05/2025 Outrage after Israeli army fires 'warning shots' at diplomats on West Bank visit 21/05/2025 No aid entering Gaza this week has reached Palestinians, UN says Middle East 21/05/2025 'Nowhere is safe in Gaza, nowhere at all' Middle East
Asharq Al-Awsat
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
‘Recovered' Assange Promotes Cannes Documentary Wearing Gaza T-Shirt
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has recovered well after his release from jail last year, his wife told AFP ahead of the premiere of a documentary Wednesday that includes never-seen-before footage of the whistleblower. Assange is at the Cannes Festival to promote the documentary by American filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, wearing a T-shirt with the names of killed Gaza children at a photo session on Tuesday. The 53-year-old former hacker is not talking to the media, however, with his wife Stella Assange saying, "He'll speak when he's ready." "We live with incredible nature at our doorstep (in Australia). Julian's very outdoorsy. He always has been. He's really recovered physically and mentally," Stella, a Spanish-Swedish lawyer, told AFP. Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government over Wikileaks's work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information. He had spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven holed up in the Ecuador embassy in London where he claimed political asylum. Award-winning director Jarecki said his film, "The Six Billion Dollar Man", aimed to correct the record about Assange, whose methods and personality still make him a divisive figure. "I think Julian Assange put himself in harm's way for the principle of informing the public about what corporations and governments around the world are doing in secret," Jarecki told AFP. Anyone willing to trade years of their life for their principles, "I think you'd have to look at that person as having heroic qualities," he added. The film includes personal videos handed over by Stella, who initially joined Wikileaks as a legal advisor and went on to have two children with Assange while he was living in the Ecuadorian embassy. It also features testimony from people who helped spy on Assange, including a private security agent who said he installed bugs accessed by the American security services in the Ecuadorian embassy. Former "Baywatch" actress and Assange's friend Pamela Anderson, fellow whistleblower Edward Snowden, and Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson also appear. - Criticism - Jarecki pushed back on some of the criticism of Assange, notably that he endangered lives by publishing unredacted US documents with the names of people who spoke to American diplomats, including informants or human rights campaigners. He also dismissed any links between Wikileaks and Russian intelligence services over the leak of Democratic Party emails ahead of the 2016 US presidential election which embarrassed Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. An investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller, who probed alleged Russian interference in the 2016 vote, found evidence Russian military intelligence hacked the Democratic Party and passed the information to Wikileaks. "Other than from the mouths of people in the Democratic Party, we've never found any evidence of any linkages between WikiLeaks and Russia," Jarecki claimed. Ecuador's left-wing former president Rafael Correa, who offered Assange asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, was to attend the film's red carpet premiere on Wednesday evening. Jarecki was awarded the first ever Golden Globe for documentary at Cannes on Monday for his previous work, including his 2018 film about Elvis, "The King". This year's festival is one of the most political for years, with hundreds of film industry figures including Hollywood heavyweights signing a letter condemning what they called "genocide" in Gaza. It also denounced Israel's killing of Fatima Hassouna, a young Gaza photojournalist featured in the documentary "Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk", which premiered at Cannes last week.
News.com.au
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
'Recovered' Assange promotes Cannes documentary about his life
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has recovered well after his release from jail last year, his wife told AFP ahead of the premiere of a documentary Wednesday that includes never-seen-before footage of the whistleblower. Assange is at the Cannes Festival to promote the documentary by American filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who said he was trying to present a new image of the Australian and his "heroic qualities". The 53-year-old former hacker is not talking to the media, however, with his wife Stella Assange saying, "He'll speak when he's ready." "We live with incredible nature at our doorstep (in Australia). Julian's very outdoorsy. He always has been. He's really recovered physically and mentally," Stella, a Spanish-Swedish lawyer, told AFP. Assange was released from a high-security British prison last June after a plea bargain with the US government over Wikileaks's work publishing top-secret military and diplomatic information. He had spent five years behind bars fighting extradition from Britain and another seven holed up in the Ecuador embassy in London where he claimed political asylum. Award-winning director Jarecki said his film, "The Six Billion Dollar Man", aimed to correct the record about Assange, whose methods and personality still make him a divisive figure. "I think Julian Assange put himself in harm's way for the principle of informing the public about what corporations and governments around the world are doing in secret," Jarecki told AFP. Anyone willing to trade years of their life for their principles, "I think you'd have to look at that person as having heroic qualities," he added. The film includes intimate footage handed over by Stella, who initially joined Wikileaks as a legal advisor and went on to have two children with Assange while he was living in the Ecuadorian embassy. It also features testimony from people who helped spy on Wikileaks, including a private security agent who said he installed bugs for American spy services in the Ecuadorian embassy. Former "Baywatch" actress and Assange's friend Pamela Anderson and fellow whistleblower Edward Snowden also appear. - Criticism - Jarecki pushed back on some of the criticism of Assange, notably that he endangered lives by publishing unredacted US diplomatic cables with the names of informants, including human rights campaigners. He also dismissed any links between Wikileaks and Russian intelligence services over the leak of Democratic Party emails ahead of the 2016 US presidential election which embarrassed Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. An investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller, who probed alleged Russian interference in the 2016 vote, found evidence Russian military intelligence hacked the Democratic Party and passed the information to Wikileaks. "Other than from the mouths of people in the Democratic Party, we've never found any evidence of any linkages between WikiLeaks and Russia," Jarecki claimed. Ecuador's left-wing former president Rafael Correa, who offered Assange asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, was to attend the film's red carpet premiere on Wednesday evening. Jarecki was awarded the first ever Golden Globe for documentary at Cannes on Monday for his previous work, including his 2018 film about Elvis, "The King".
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Director of Julian Assange Film ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man' Wins Golden Globe Prize for Documentary
Eugene Jarecki, director of Julian Assange film 'The Six Billion Dollar Man,' has been awarded the first-ever Golden Globe Prize for Documentary. His film world premieres at Cannes Film Festival. The award, presented by Artemis Rising Foundation, was given to Jarecki on Monday at the Cannes Film Festival. More from Variety Hong Kong Cinema Makes Splash at Cannes With Industry Push Penélope Cruz to Star in Los Javis' 'La Bola Negra,' Acquired for Global Sales by Goodfellas MUV Capital, Retrato Filmes Set Trailblazing Partnership for Distribution in Brazil, Latin America (EXCLUSIVE) Jarecki is a two-time winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, as well as multiple Emmy and Peabody Awards. The prize honors a filmmaker for their 'contribution in shaping the documentary genre and challenging the way audiences see the world.' The jury is composed of president of Golden Globes, Helen Hoehne; founder and CEO of Artemis Rising Foundation, Regina K. Scully; Academy Award winning producer and co-founder of Impact Partners, Geralyn White Dreyfous; and actor and producer Tessa Thompson. In deciding to award Jarecki, the jury highlighted how 'his films combine the skills of a journalist with the voice of a poet.' They commended him for 'balancing penetrating analysis with fearlessness, compassion and empathy.' They added: 'He helps us broaden our view of what is right and wrong,' and said that 'he is not afraid to look 'under the hood' of society and expose what is being rewired without our consent.' They felt overall that 'Jarecki's films deeply challenge our perspectives, and inspire us to defend our most fundamental freedoms.' The jury said: 'Eugene Jarecki embodies the very spirit of what this prize was created to honor. His documentaries are fearless, unflinching, and profoundly human – they don't just inform, they transform. At a time when truth is under pressure, Eugene's work reminds us of the power of storytelling to provoke, enlighten, and ultimately defend democracy itself. We are proud to recognize his extraordinary contribution with the first-ever Cannes Golden Globe Prize for Documentary.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes Late Additions Include Eugene Jarecki's Julian Assange Doc ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man'
The Cannes Film Festival has added a handful of films to its official selection just days ahead of the 78th festival, which kicks off on Tuesday. Among the last-minute entries is Eugene Jarecki's Julian Assange documentary feature, The Six Billion Dollar Man, which will receive a special screening. The Six Billion Dollar Man had been set to screen at Sundance this year, but was pulled weeks before the festival with Jarecki saying he needed to incorporate 'significant recent and unexpected developments' into the film before releasing it. More from The Hollywood Reporter The E.U.'s Secret Weapon In Trump's Trade War 'Little Amélie,' World Premiering at Cannes, Lets Us See the World Through a Young Girl's Eyes (Trailer With English Subtitles) YouTube Keynote to Open NATPE Budapest Resurrection, a sci-fi detective movie from Chinese director Bi Gan (Long Day's Journey Into Night), is a late addition to this year's competition. The film, starring Jackson Yee (Better Days) and Shu Qi (The Assassin), is being shopped at the Cannes market by Les Films du Losange. Other 11th-hour additions were Martin Bourboulon's 13 jours, 13 nuits, which will play Out Of Competition, and Ma Fere by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, which will screen as a Cannes Premiere. The 78th Cannes Film Festival runs May 13-24. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
