3 core questions for the creator and the protagonists of the internationally lauded documentary DEMOCRACY the Guardian called "a subtle cinematic triumph“. Watch it May 17 at GOETHE FILMS @ TIFF Bell Lightbox Toronto.
Director David Bernet -- EU politics, data protection reform and legislation... these are highly complex and abstract themes. How did you ground the film?
All the major political themes of our times are complex, whether it’s the recession, Ukraine, the Middle East, migrants and refugees, resources and climate change, or even digitalization.
I feel that my job as a filmmaker involves acknowledging this reality and finding a way to encourage the audience’s curiosity and desire to know more about the world without being battered by its complexity.
In film terms, the solution lies, as so often in documentaries, in
proximity to the protagonists. As soon as we’re in a position to understand what the protagonists want, what drives them and what they’re fighting for, the film can begin.
In this case, that wasn’t particularly easy, of course, simply because one doesn’t immediately feel comfortable in the corridors of power in Brussels’ European Quarter. But once we’ve crossed the threshold, most people will be surprised to see that,
despite the clichés, working on a piece of European legislation is an extremely dynamic process.
Jan Philipp Albrecht (Member of the European Parliament for the German Green Party), YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON DATA PROTECTION LEGISLATION SINCE 2012. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST REALIZATION IN THAT TIME?
The last few years have taught me that data protection is one of the biggest and most important issues of our century. It now seems self-evident that knowledge of every man and woman’s behaviour is fundamental to economic success and most likely to personal happiness also. With the digitalization of every area of life, people become ever more predictable and their freedom of choice ever more limited. It is crucial, therefore, to decide how much control we, as individuals, have over the exploitation of personal data and
whether we, as a society, consider that complete and uncontrolled harvesting of all data is appropriate.
Viviane Reding (MEP for Luxembourg's conservative European People's Party), YOUNG PEOPLE ESPECIALLY ARE VERY FREE AND EASY WITH THEIR PERSONAL DATA ON THE INTERNET. HOW DO YOU CONVINCE THEM THAT DATA PROTECTION CONCERNS US ALL?
Starting at school, young people and children must learn responsible behaviour with personal data. It’s also the parents’ duty to teach them.
The trouble with the free and easy approach is that the consequences are not immediately obvious.
Images courtesy Doc & Film International
