Raoul Peck on His Cannes-Bound George Orwell Documentary and the Threat of Dictatorship: ‘Terror Comes Slowly'
Raoul Peck, who will be at the Cannes Film Festival next month with his George Orwell documentary, 'Orwell: 2+2=5,' delivered a blistering warning about the global rise of autocracy this week at documentary festival Visions du Réel, where he is guest of honor.
'Orwell: 2+2=5,' which will debut in Cannes' Première section, is made in collaboration with the Orwell estate and delves deep into the British writer's final months and legacy, including his bestselling novel '1984.'
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On Thursday, Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux said at the festival's press conference that Peck's film would look at 'the strength and relevance of his ideas, and his anticipation of what will become of societies if we don't take care of them. That was in the '30s and '40s. We didn't pay enough attention to that and maybe we're not very far from it now; that's the thesis of this film.'
Addressing a sold-out masterclass at Visions du Réel, Peck drew a chilling line between Orwell's warnings and the current political climate.
'I was talking about Orwell – his 'Newspeak.' Words don't mean anything anymore. Science doesn't mean anything. There's no truth – there are 'alternative facts.' We're living in a world that's upside down, where no one says anything. We're terrified. That's what terror is. It comes slowly,' said Peck, who fled his native Haiti with his family at the age of 8 to escape the Duvalier dictatorship.
'They dismissed anyone who wasn't an outspoken supporter of the new regime. When you've lived under a dictatorship, you recognize the signs we see today: when journalists lower their heads, when nobody dares to say that the king is naked, that the king is talking nonsense.'
Talking to Variety in March about the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Peck said that the world is at the mercy of 'crazy people' who have put the lives of millions at stake, and compared Trump-supporting manifesto 'Project 2025' to 'Mein Kampf.'
The deconstruction of systemic racism is the cornerstone of Peck's work. His Oscar-nominated 'I Am Not Your Negro' (2016), based on the writings of civil rights activist James Baldwin, and his Peabody-winning HBO docuseries 'Exterminate All the Brutes' (2021) examine the roots of racial violence and colonialism through a global lens.
Asked whether he was given carte blanche by HBO, Peck said: 'I was aware it might be the last film I made in the U.S., but how could you attack a film which addresses the Holocaust, slavery, the genocide of Native Americans, and shows that it's all connected? There's a moment in the film when I ask, 'Make America Great Again' — when exactly was America great?' The comment drew applause from the VdR audience.
An outspoken critic of Trump, Peck says he has always taken full responsibility for his words, and when his creative freedom is threatened, he simply relocates.
'I knew I had to bring to the screen what I saw, to deconstruct dominant narratives. We need to create a new world for the next generation. I don't have an agenda – just threads that, when woven together, offer another perspective,' he said. 'Because filmmaking is a mission: one of freedom and risk-taking. I always make films knowing that each one might be the last. I thought ['Exterminate All the Brutes'] could be my last in the U.S.'
Peck, who navigates fluidly between documentary and fiction, also lamented the current state of non-fiction filmmaking.
'It's a catastrophe. The documentary world has been completely transformed by money and the streamers,' he said. 'Over the past 10 years, a lot of people thought they could get rich making documentaries — they didn't understand that a documentary isn't a product. It takes patience and understanding.'
He added: 'It's becoming harder and harder to get funding without strings attached. Look at Trump: one of the first things he did was go after every institution that still supports independent filmmakers — especially programs labeled as 'diversity' — meaning Black filmmakers, women, LGBTQ+ filmmakers.
'As for the doc bubble? It's burst,' said Peck. 'A lot of people had invested heavily, and now they're going bankrupt or realizing they can't sell their films to streamers. Because the platforms have decided what kind of 'documentary' they want: true crime, comedy, horror and celebrity scandals.'
'Orwell: 2+2=5' marks Peck's fourth Cannes premiere. He first appeared on the Croisette in 1993 with 'The Man by the Shore,' selected in competition. 'Lumumba,' about the U.S.-sanctioned plot to assassinate Congo's democratically elected prime minister, screened in Directors' Fortnight in 2000. In 2012, he served on the main jury, and last year, he won the Œil d'Or for best documentary with 'Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,' which he shared with 'The Brink of Dreams' co-directors Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir.
'Orwell: 2+2=5' is produced by Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions and Peck's Velvet Films alongside Universal Pictures Content Group, in partnership with Nick Shumaker's Anonymous Content and Closer Media. North American sales are handled by Neon, the two-time best picture Oscar winner with 'Anora' and 'Parasite.'
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