COMING SOON...
ABOUT THE FILM
THE STORY SO FAR...In November 2010, we set off on a six-month trip around the world to interview anarchists for a feature length documentary film. We aimed to release the film by the beginning of 2012, but the scope of the project has proved much greater than we could have imagined and, as inevitably happens (especially in a capitalist society), life has gotten in the way more than once. We are, however, still committed to finishing the film to the very best of our abilities and, while we cannot yet provide a launch date for it, we appreciate all the kind words and offers of support we receive from anarchist friends around the world. We hope you will continue to be patient with us as we move, perhaps more slowly than expected, towards our ambitious goal.

During the first year of work on our film, we travelled to a number of countries, meeting inspiring groups and individuals, conducting interviews, getting caught up in building occupations and petty squabbles and spending nights in squats, social centers and the houses of strangers who soon became friends. We conducted 104 interviews in four continents during this time and have already added a bunch more - we have also recently welcomed on board a couple of enthusiastic supporters who have offered to shoot more interviews for us.

While the task ahead of us remains daunting in scale - we've already committed the last two years of our lives to it - we're still confident that, sometime before the revolution, we'll be able to release a non-copyrighted, feature length film that includes a broad historical overview of anarchism, an explanation of its key principles, an exploration of anarchy in action and a snapshot of all the contrasting but ultimately complementary views held by contemporary anarchists from around the world. It will also serve as a message of realistic hope and a call to action in this time of compounded social and ecological crises.


With love and hope,
Steffi, Aragorn and friends


“By anarchist spirit I mean that deeply human sentiment, which aims at the good of all, freedom and justice for all, solidarity and love among the people; which is not an exclusive characteristic only of self-declared anarchists, but inspires all people who have a generous heart and an open mind.”

- Errico Malatesta

MEDIA
We’re still hard at work filming and editing, but we've decided to share some unedited interview clips in the meantime. These teaser clips are - apart from a little cursory grading and noise reduction - straight off the camera and don't necessarily reflect the look or sound of the final film, but we hope they'll at least give a sense of where we're headed.

PS: As we're still busy with translations, the currently chosen clips might reflect an Anglophone / Eurocentric bias. We'll upload more as we go along :-)


“We are bound first to inform ourselves concerning so great a matter as the revolt of millions of people- what they are struggling for, what they are struggling against, and how the struggle stands- from day to day...as best you can; and second, to spread this knowledge among others, and endeavor to do what little you can to awaken the consciousness and sympathy of others.”

- Voltairine de Cleyre

FAQ
A: We cannot provide a final launch date at this point but hope that you'll remain patient with us. We're working as hard as we can given the contingencies of our lives and will keep everyone posted on progress.
A: So far, we've travelled to South America (Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru), the US (East, South and parts of the West Coast), Canada, various countries in Europe and Southern Africa. We regret not being able to visit Eastern Europe, Asia, North Africa and Australasia. If there are passionate anarchists in these areas who would like to be interviewed, get in touch and we'll try coordinate a shoot with a local volunteer (unless you'd like to try fundraise to fly us over!)
A: Check out the interviewee list. We've spoken to an eclectic range of both well-known (and in some cases infamous) and not so well-known anarchists from around the world, representing a huge variety of traditions, practices and outlooks between them.
A: We're two long-time anarchists.

Stefanie Noire is an anthropologist and PhD student who was part of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front and an editor on www.anarkismo.net. She has published articles which can be found on Anarkismo and www.anarchistnews.org as well as articles for specific journals. Aragorn and Steffi conducted the 2010 Anarchist Survey and Steffi helped establish the first bolo'bolo - a vegan restaurant and infoshop in Cape Town. You can connect with her here.

Aragorn Eloff is a South African anarchist who is part of the bolo'bolo infoshop and collective in Cape Town. You can connect with him here.
A: We've been mostly using a simple & effective Canon DSLR with a couple of lenses, a mid-range tripod, a Zoom H1 for external audio and a couple of other bits of gear (oh, and a ton of external hard drives!)
A: Not very much at all. This is our first film.
A. We want to provide a non-sectarian overview of the rich history of anarchist practice and ideas. We want to talk about a few important anarchists. We want to answer at least some of the silly - and sometimes not so silly - questions anarchists are always being asked by non-anarchists, and also clear up grievous misrepresentations. Finally, we want to explore the diversity of tactics and practices employed by anarchists in their work towards both living as anarchists in the present day and bringing about a better world.
A: We're probably best viewed as social anarchists of the 'without too many adjectives' kind. We wish to remain as non-partisan as possible in producing our film and we'll be exploring, among countless other things, anarchist communism, revolutionary syndicalism, insurrectionism, green anarchism, anarcha-feminism, anarcho-primitivism, post-left anarchy, CrimethInc-style approaches and even so-called 'postanarchism'. And no, we won't be going anywhere near those awful 'anarcho'-capitalists!
A: No! It's really important to us that we give a full account of situated anarchism. Diversity in location, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, ability and so forth is a core concern of ours. We also want to portray contemporary anarchism honestly:
A: We'd love to go everywhere, but we simply cannot afford to. If you can fundraise to fly us over to where you are, or are willing to explore the possibility of shooting some interviews on our behalf, let us know!

PS: Wherever we've travelled, we've been told by the awesome people we've encountered that the real action was elsewhere; that in another city just fifty miles from this one, the revolution was imminent. What we've learned is that the real action is wherever you are. Don't sell yourself or your group short!
A: We started this project because we want to do better than this. We want to attract new and especially young people to anarchism and convey a sense of the profoundly emotionally resonant connection we feel to the anarchist milieu and its aspirations. Given this, we will focus as heavily on style as on content.
A: We crowdfunded about 10% of the money we've spent so far. The rest came from money we saved and possessions we sold.
A: Drop us an email and we'll remove you immediately.
A: Trust us, we'd like to see a trailer as much as you would. We even put together a teaser trailer a few months back, but we weren't happy with it and decided that it was better to work hard on something that truly reflected our project than to hack something together to appease some imagined 'international anarchist community' who were waiting with bated breath for the release of our film.


“We are not in the least afraid of ruins. We are going to inherit the earth; there is not the slightest doubt about that. The bourgeoisie might blast and ruin its own world before it leaves the stage of history. We carry a new world here, in our hearts. That world is growing in this minute.”

- Buenaventura Durruti

CONTACT US
send us an email at: us@anarchismdocumentary.net


“On the one hand there is the existent, with its habits and certainties. And of certainty, that social poison, one can die. On the other hand there is insurrection, the unknown bursting into the life of all. The possible beginning of an exaggerated practice of freedom.”

- Alfredo Maria Bonanno