Grierson award-winning director Kate Stonehill’s debut feature documentary Phantom Parrot will enjoy a nationwide UK theatrical release from Friday March 15 in conjunction with Bertha DocHouse, Picturehouse and independent cinemas. Screenings will be followed by Q&As with the film team, contributors and relevant experts.
The film, which is supported by Bright West Entertainment, BFI Doc Society, Tribeca Film Institute and Catapult Film Fund, unravels a secret British government surveillance programme by following human rights activist Muhammad Rabbani as he is prosecuted under terror laws for refusing to hand over the passwords to his electronic devices. The film asks deeply unsettling questions about the rule of law, modern espionage and digital privacy.
“With Phantom Parrot (see Trailer) we have always had a clear intention about our long-term distribution plans in relation to broadcast and VOD/ TVOD opportunities, and have been lucky enough to work with CAA for North America and Java Films for the rest of the world on sales,” producer Steven Lake of Brass Mill Media tells Business Doc Europe.
“In the wake of an incredible festival run where we saw sell out screening after sell out screening we felt inspired to put together a theatrical run for the film,” Lake adds of his team’s decision to self-distribute in the UK. “Looking into various distribution models and partnerships we decided as a team to venture into an independent approach. This was inspired off the back of a successful Bertha Doc House screening where we worked hard to generate our own press and interest, giving us the confidence to reach out directly to cinemas. We have a very clear idea of the sort of release we wanted to curate in terms of post screening Q&As and we found ourselves to be much more agile if we effectively built out the theatrical release ourselves.”
“We have a self-sustaining model in place,” Lake continues. “Our run is not being subsidised, instead we have negotiated directly with theatres to generate the necessary income to support what we are doing. With the add-on of post-screening Q&As we have made ourselves an attractive prospect for cinemas hoping to engage local audiences. The whole process has been extremely rewarding. In the face of it being a difficult year for documentary distribution we are incredibly pleased to find a way to reach a portion of our audience as directly as possible.”
Director Kate Stonehill underlines to BDE the importance of getting the film out to as wide an audience as possible.
“Phantom Parrot brings the audience on a journey of understanding what’s at stake when our right to privacy is eroded – and [when] dissent and criticism of those in power becomes more difficult,” she says. “In a year that will see more people than ever going to the polls to vote, now feels like a particularly urgent moment, globally, to examine how technology has redefined the relationship between the citizen and the state.”
“In the UK, the film is part of a vital, and increasingly relevant, discussion about the use of counter-terrorism laws against non-violent protesters, journalists and activists,” Stonehill adds. “One month after our first public screening of the film, a French publisher [Ernest Moret] was arrested under Schedule 7 for refusing to hand over his passwords while he was stopped, on his way to attend the London book fair. His case underscores the chilling effect that laws like these can have on journalists and members of the media.”
Phantom Parrot is described as a ‘non-fiction thriller.’ Director Stonehill elaborates. “The film builds tension through a cat-and-mouse back-and-forth between Rabbani’s story, in which he is prosecuted for his refusal to hand over his passwords, and footage from a digital forensics conference, where investigators outline techniques for accessing people’s phones,” she stresses.
“Graphic sequences of data being extracted from a phone create a chilling atmosphere, where we are shown the various types of personal information that can be accessed: text messages, location data, health metrics…Nainita Desai’s score imbues these scenes with suspense. [Her] inventive decision to use big, powerful strings in these sequences adds something human and terrifying to these moments.”
See Business Doc Europe interview with Kate Stonehill before the film’s world-premiere at CPH:DOX 2023.
