The Brink

Alison Klayman / United States / 2019 / Czech Premiere / 90 min.

synopsis

From autumn 2017 until the 2018 American congressional elections a year later, the director spent time filming with Stephen Kevin Bannon, considered one of the primary architects of Donald Trump’s winning presidential campaign. We observe the former presidential adviser in particular during working meetings with journalists and American and European politicians and businessmen, which he used to spread right-wing views and to consolidate Republican positions of power. Although the controversial strategist apparently attempts to use the presence of the camera to promote himself, the occasional falling out of character reveals that his success is due primarily to prejudices, hypocrisy, and lies that help spread malice and hatred.

“I felt he was being given so much power by the image constructed by media. I thought that if we could follow him for an extended period of time we could demystify him, and that would be valuable.” A. Klayman

biography

American director Alison Klayman (1984) made her debut with the film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, which closed the 2012 Ji.hlava IDFF. For Netflix last year, she made the documentary Take Your Pills, about American drug dependency.