The Secret Trial 5

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my friend Amar Wala's website release for a film he's currently producing under working title "The Secret Trial 5".

"The Secret Trial 5 is a new crowdfunded documentary that examines the human impact of Canada’s “war on terror”; specifically the use of security certificates, a tool that allows for indefinite detention, with no charges, and secret evidence. Over the last decade, 5 men have been held under security certificates in Canada. They spent between 2 and 7 years in prison each. None of them was ever charged with a crime." 

(http://secrettrial5.com)

Amar, who is producing and directing the documentary, is an award-winning filmmaker from Toronto. His short film, The Good Son captures the story of a young Egyptian refugee who is asked to translate for his father as CSIS (Canadian Securities and Intelligence Services) officers interrogate him in their home. The film is based on the true story of Mahmoud Jaballah, who is one of the subjects of the upcoming Secret Trial 5; it has been screened and awarded at various festivals worldwide.


Now, the amazing part of this entire project (other than the fact that it brings to light a Canadian issue which is largely hidden and ignored), is the crowdfunding part. "Crowd-funding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money together, usually via the Internet, in order to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Crowdfunding occurs for any variety of purposes, from disaster relief to citizen journalism to artists seeking support from fans, to political campaigns." (wikipedia). And, it shall work for this film.


Please click here to donate to this project. There's a great little breakdown of how all the funds will be allotted, and a list of the benefits you get with each donated amount. You can be a part of important decisions like the movie title, movie poster design, etc.


And make sure you visit the website in the mean time. You'll be able to watch The Good Son, keep tabs on the production, visit their blogs, and learn more about security certificates. That great little animation ^^ is nothing compared to the rest of the site :).