Despite the dire straits of the current political situations in ‘First-World’ nations around the world, we generally take our freedoms for granted. Freedoms of speech, religion, belief etc are just parts of everyday life. This is not the case for large parts of the world. With the ‘Arab Spring’ and recent conflicts in the Middle East, we’ve seen moves towards democracy in many countries. However, all democracies aren’t equal.
Freedom for the Wolf casts its eye over how freedom looks in different places around the globe. Rupert Russell’s documentary starts out with the Occupy movement in Hong Kong, moves on to the post Arab-Spring world in Tunisia and through the religious intolerance of India. It’s perhaps the last section, unsurprisingly on America, which is the most depressing. Whilst the other countries are perhaps cursed by their history, the USA should not be a country where freedom is colour blind.
Freedom for the Wolf analyses the dangers for new democracies. How hope can quickly descend into despair. How not all citizens are equal and how dictatorships are forming illiberal democracies. We see the spread of nationalism growing every day. Minority groups are being oppressed and scapegoated. The wolves are using their new-born freedom to slaughter the sheep. Freedom for the Wolf plays out like a video essay. It’s a fascinating and depressing piece of documentary film-making, making and justifying its arguments with aplomb.
Freedom for the Wolf is screening at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
