Can Europeans find a safer course in the global disorder?
Springshot Productions and Journeyman Pictures are thrilled to announce that its current affairs 60’ documentary “Europe At Sea” will be launched 1st December 2017 for broadcast, on Amazon and additional platforms. Written, Produced and Directed by Annalisa Piras and executive produced by Claudia Bucher (Arte G.E.I.E) and Axel Arno (SVT), “Europe At Sea” had exclusive access to Federica Mogherini, the head of EU Foreign and Security Policy for a year and a half while she put together the complex jigsaw puzzle of the new EU Global Strategy, in a year that saw the Brexit vote and Trump’s election.
The world has not been this volatile since the end of WW2. Can Europeans come together to confront their new challenges? The EU chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, thinks they can, but only if they start thinking strategically, and reject the closing of borders and minds.
“The world is playing with fire. Europeans need to take responsibility for their own defence. You can be strong and human. It’s a matter of political will.” Federica Mogherini
Migration crises, conflicts, terrorism, cyberwarfare, and belligerent powers on Europe’s doorstep are all part of a complex jigsaw puzzle, where the borders between internal and external threats are no longer clear.
Through exclusive access to the EU chief diplomat, award-winning filmmaker Annalisa Piras reveals how the EU is shaping up to the challenges threatening its citizen’s security, accelerating the integration of European defence and security structures.
Yet voters are increasingly drawn to nationalist and populist answers. And EU solidarity is under constant challenges. In the year that saw the Brexit vote and Trump’s election, this film delivers a unique insight into how the EU Global Strategy is responding to the changing landscape. It’s a plan very few have heard about, let alone understood.
The 28 EU member states have approved the strategy, but it remains to be seen if they will fully support Mogherini in implementing it. Embedded within two EU missions, “Europe At Sea” reveals, for the first time, the strategy in action, and the complex links between security, migration and economic development.
We step onboard Operation Sophia, the first EU navy fleet deployed in the Southern Mediterranean to disrupt trafficker’s networks and save lives, and document the EUCAP Sahel mission in Niger. The film brings to light the interconnected pieces of Mogherini’s new strategy. It explains the background to the historic shift that will see the EU accelerating towards an embryonic EU army, joint military operations under the PESCO articles of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as reinforced cooperation with NATO.
“We are our own worst enemy,” says Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary General and British Defence Minister, “because we are not facing up collectively, or individually, to the new challenges that are going to define the way we live in the future.”
Two years in the making, combining interviews with top experts and leaders, “Europe At Sea” uncovers some inconvenient truths about the historic challenge facing Europeans.
In Springshot’s trademark style, “Europe At Sea” is bound to take viewers out of their comfort zone, with beautiful cinematography and animations combined with rigorous journalism and powerfully presented hard facts.
Co-produced by Franco-German ARTE, Swedish SVT, and British Springshot Productions, and directed by Italian filmmaker Annalisa Piras, “Europe At Sea” is a unique European co-production that provides a uniquely European perspective on the most pressing security issues facing European citizens today. London-based, global documentary distributor Journeyman Pictures is distributing the film worldwide.
The film has also been pre-sold to Italy’s Sky Cinema, Rai Cinema, YLE Finland and TVE Spain. It will premiere on Arte TV on November the 7th 2017.
The Frontline Club will host a special screening and Q&A on Friday 1st December 7pm. Tickets available here.
“Europe At Sea” interviewees include:
• Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General
• Michael Roth, Germany’s Europe Minister
• Roberta Pinotti, Italy’s Defence Minister
• Sylvie Goulard, formerly France’s Defence Minister Hubert Vedrine, France’s former Foreign Affairs Minister
• Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary General and UK Defence Minister
• Lord Richards, former Head of the British Army
• Prof Mary Kaldor, Head of the LSE Human Security Research Unit
“Europe At Sea” follows the successful Springshot co-production by BBC4, Arte, SVT and other EU broadcasters of the international hit documentary “The Great European Disaster Movie,” winner of the prestigious 2016 Civis Media Award bestowed by the President of Germany. It reached 3,500,000 viewers in 12 countries and was translated into 10 languages including Japanese, Chinese and Farsi. It is currently a civic engagement film being shown across European universities as part of the outreach campaign “Wake Up Europe!”.
About Springshot Productions
Springshot is an independent production company making ambitious documentaries for international audiences. It was founded by Annalisa Piras, following her 25 year career as a foreign correspondent and journalist for L’Espresso, the BBC, La7 TV and Euronews, among others.
Springshot’s latest documentary, Europe at Sea, released 1st December 2017, examines whether Europe is capable – and willing – to combat the myriad security and humanitarian challenges within and beyond its borders. It is an ARTE and Sveriges Television (SVT) co-production. The film obtained unprecedented access to HRVP Federica Mogherini, the chief of EU Foreign and Security Policy at a pivotal moment of European history. Europe at Sea contains never-before-seen footage of the migrant crisis and offers a unique insight into the workings of the first joint EU naval fleet in the Southern Mediterranean Sea, Operation Sophia, on which Springshot’s crew were embedded.
Award-winning docu-drama The Great European Disaster Movie (2015) envisaged the world in the wake of the EU’s collapse, examining the continent’s political, economic, and social crises in the process. Shot in 2014, the film forecast the Brexit result in 2016. The Great European Disaster Movie won the prestigious 2016 German CIVIS Media Prize, bestowed by the President of Germany as the best film out of 930 programmes covering European issues. According to the jury, the film was “an impressive portrait of the EU… a thoughtful and moving film, which dramatically presents the loss of European values. A brilliant production, magnificent and scary at the same time.”
Springshot’s break-out hit Girlfriend in a Coma (2012) gained cult status after being banned in Italy for its unflinching portrait of Silvio Berlusconi and the nation’s historic flaws. Directed/produced by Piras, the film was narrated by Bill Emmott, Former Editor of The Economist who also co-wrote the script.