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Two perspectives on the global arms trade from experts at different ends of the spectrum – a former war correspondent and an arms trade dealer.
Through archive footage and close-up interviews, Johan Grimonprez’ latest is a thoughtful and at times shocking provocation of the devastating effects of war.
A portrait of two people on different sides of the global arms trade, Blue Orchids reveals the duplicity and corruption that keep the industry of war alive. While interviewing the subjects of his recent release Shadow World, director Johan Grimonprez was struck by how similarly the war correspondent Chris Hedges and the arms dealer Riccardo Privitera discussed the anguish and trauma caused by war, despite their opposing perspectives.
Placing their interviews side-by-side, one war merges with another as they reveal their experiences and thoughts on the politics and deception that breed conflict. Cut with archive footage of news reports and aerial shots from wars across the years, Blue Orchids is a thoughtful and at times shocking provocation of the devastating effects of war.