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_ Synopsis

90’ social impact film by Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, co-directed with Denis Lambert, as a centerpiece of an ambitious transmedia project which combines investigative journalism with activism and wake-up call to action.

For centuries victims of heinous sexual war crimes have experienced horrible abuses and its devastating consequences, yet very few have had the courage or the support to break the centuries old silence and speak up. ZERO IMPUNITY offers a voice to victims in countries across the globe, including Syria and Ukraine, as well as on the African continent and in the USA. FATIMA raises her voice, in the name of her daughter, 11 year-old-Nora, abducted like thousands of children and sexually tortured in the prisons of the Syrian regime. ALISA, a survivor of sexual violence during the Donbas conflict in Ukraine,  finally speaks out; forbidden to press charges in her own country. MARK, a former interrogator in Guantanamo, denounces the institutionalized system which used sexual torture on detainees in the U.S. military prison.

ZERO IMPUNITY confronts the dirty mechanics of major international institutions, fueled by an global culture of hopelessness, neglect and denial. The liberation of suppressed voices and the support structures now available are the  first step in providing the crucial tools needed to heal. This film features exclusive records from the United Nations, Oscar nominated animation, and most importantly a message of hope, renewal and real change. 

ZERO IMPUNITY is an important and necessary eye-opening scream, raising awareness and outrage.
We put human faces on these stories. A film about life, love and humanity. Join the Movement. 

BLIES Brothers

Authors & film directors

  • Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (Blies brothers) are two French filmmakers and digital artists who create their works together. They also co-founded the award-winning cinema production company a_BAHN and the immersive art studio VELVET FLARE.

    In 2015, they conceptualized the documentary music transmedia Soundhunters in co-production with ARTE. Soundhunters was imagined to transform the world into an infinite musical instrument. The transmedia is released in 2015 in collaboration with many international artists including Jean Michel Jarre, Simonne Jones or Blixa Bargeld. In 2016, the Blies brothers are invited to present their work at Lincoln Center during the New York Film Festival. The project is placed in 2016 under the high patronage of UNESCO.

    In 2019, they wrote and directed their first feature film Zero Impunity Thessaloniki IFF, Annecy IFF, Moscow IFF, Mostra de Sao Paulo, Guadalajara IFF, Palm Springs IFF...). The film was nominated for the Trophées Francophones du Cinéma in the category “Best documentary”. The film is the centerpiece of an international transmedia project of social impact denouncing the impunity of sexual violence in wartime. The filmmakers have been invited to participate in numerous conferences, notably in the presence of Doctor Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize 2018).

    In 2021, they decided to devote themselves exclusively to more intimate and personal work. They are developing several immersive art projects, including Ceci est mon coeur in co-production with CENTRE PHI in Montreal, Lucid Realities in Paris, Eclats de voix and Le Goût du déséquilibre, which they are developing in collaboration with the CINEDANS Dance Festival in Amsterdam. They are also working on two feature film projects. A feature-length fiction film Caravanes and an animation film Les deux frères

    Jury

    In 2020, the Blies brothers are members of the feature film jury section “Contrechamp” of the 44th International Animation Film Festival of Annecy. In 2018, Nicolas Blies is a member of the jury section “National Documentary” and Stéphane Hueber-Blies member and president of the section “Innovation Award” at the 31st International Festival of Audiovisual Production of Biarritz (FIPA).

Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies (Blies brothers) are two French filmmakers and digital artists who create their works together. They also co-founded the award-winning cinema production company a_BAHN and the immersive art studio VELVET FLARE.

In 2015, they conceptualized the documentary music transmedia Soundhunters in co-production with ARTE. Soundhunters was imagined to transform the world into an infinite musical instrument. The transmedia is released in 2015 in collaboration with many international artists including Jean Michel Jarre, Simonne Jones or Blixa Bargeld. In 2016, the Blies brothers are invited to present their work at Lincoln Center during the New York Film Festival. The project is placed in 2016 under the high patronage of UNESCO.

In 2019, they wrote and directed their first feature film Zero Impunity Thessaloniki IFF, Annecy IFF, Moscow IFF, Mostra de Sao Paulo, Guadalajara IFF, Palm Springs IFF...). The film was nominated for the Trophées Francophones du Cinéma in the category “Best documentary”. The film is the centerpiece of an international transmedia project of social impact denouncing the impunity of sexual violence in wartime. The filmmakers have been invited to participate in numerous conferences, notably in the presence of Doctor Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize 2018).

In 2021, they decided to devote themselves exclusively to more intimate and personal work. They are developing several immersive art projects, including Ceci est mon coeur in co-production with CENTRE PHI in Montreal, Lucid Realities in Paris, Eclats de voix and Le Goût du déséquilibre, which they are developing in collaboration with the CINEDANS Dance Festival in Amsterdam. They are also working on two feature film projects. A feature-length fiction film Caravanes and an animation film Les deux frères

Jury

In 2020, the Blies brothers are members of the feature film jury section “Contrechamp” of the 44th International Animation Film Festival of Annecy. In 2018, Nicolas Blies is a member of the jury section “National Documentary” and Stéphane Hueber-Blies member and president of the section “Innovation Award” at the 31st International Festival of Audiovisual Production of Biarritz (FIPA).

PRODUCED BY

SALES AGENT

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

THE EXPERIENCE

AWARDS


OFFICIAL SELECTIONS


_Synopsis

ZERO IMPUNITY is a transmedia project which combines investigative journalism with a wake up call to action. For centuries victims of heinous sexual war crimes have experienced the horrific abuse and its devastating consequences, yet very few have had the courage or the support to break the centuries old silence and speak up. ZERO IMPUNITY offers a voice to victims in countries across the globe, including Syria and Ukraine, as well as on the African continent and in the USA. At the heart of ZERO IMPUNITY, 6 in-depth investigative reports which question the failures within many major international institutions and States which make it impossible to fight against the deliberate and highly effective use of sexual violence to control and maintain power in armed conflicts, while combating terrorism and within the peace keeping task forces, worldwide. 

Since January 2017, the 6 investigations have been progressively published, one by one, by an international media consortium and on the zeroimpunity. com website. These 6 investigations have also been published by Mediapart a French independent newspaper specializing in investigations, and by several European and African newspapers also specializing in investigations (the same group who published the Panama Papers): Internazionale (Italy), InfoLibre (Spain), LeDesk (Morocco), Inkyfada (Tunisia), Correctiv.org. 

In partnership with Change.org, each investigation is extended by a petition and the possibility to participate in digital demonstrations that can be projected onto large buildings and public spaces with enormous impact. The petitions include concrete demands, for change as well as the road map to get there. 400,000 citizens have already joined the movement, signing petitions demanding concrete actions, including special training within the french army and criminal code reforms in Ukraine.

BLIES Brothers

Authors & Films directors

  • Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, referred as the Blies brothers, are two French filmmakers, producers, and artists who create their works together.

    Biography

    In 2013, they conceptualized the documentary music transmedia Soundhunters in co-production with the French-German TV channel ARTE. Soundhunters was imagined to transform the world into an infinite musical instrument. It is the first part of the collection "Inhabiting the world poetically". The transmedia is released in 2015 in collaboration with many international artists including Jean Michel Jarre, Simonne Jones, or Blixa Bargeld. In 2016, the Blies brothers are invited to present their work at Lincoln Center during the New York Film Festival. The project is placed in 2016 under the high patronage of UNESCO.

    In 2019, they wrote and directed their first feature film Zero Impunity (2019). The film had its world premiere in March 2019 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greece) before being in official competition at the Annecy Film Festival (France) and then at the Moscow International Film Festival or the Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA). Marcel Jean (artistic director of the Annecy Film Festival) said in Le Film Français that Zero Impunity is "the perfect example of what we want to do with Contrechamp (the new feature-length competition section)". Le Figaro identifies the film as "a hard-hitting film" that "left Annecy speechless". And Première describes the film as "impressive". In 2021, the film was nominated for the Trophées Francophones du Cinéma in the category "Best Documentary".

    The film is the centerpiece of an international social impact transmedia project denouncing the impunity of sexual violence in wartime. The transmedia project is built as an "active media that promotes the liberation of the word and thus fights against impunity". The Zero Impunity media, supported by more than 400,000 citizens around the world, was launched with the publication of the first investigation L'ADN de Sangaris in Médiapart (France), Internazionale (Italy), InfoLibre (Spain), Le Desk (Morocco), Inkyfada (Tunisia), Correctiv (Germany), Le Jeudi and Tageblatt (Luxembourg). For Edwy Plenel, Zero Impunity is "a peaceful weapon". The transmedia wins the FIPA d'Or 2017 and gets a selection at the Visa d'Or de l'information France TV. The filmmakers were invited to participate in numerous conferences, notably in the presence of Dr. Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize 2018) at the University of Angers. 

    In April 2021, they also decided to devote themselves to an intimate work (cinema and theater) on the traumas of their own childhood, as well as on the intergenerational traumas that inhabit their family history.

    Jury

    In 2020, the Blies brothers are members of the feature film jury section "Contrechamp" of the 44th International Animation Film Festival of Annecy. In 2018, Nicolas Blies is a member of the jury section "National Documentary" and Stéphane Hueber-Blies member and president of the section "Innovation Award" at the 31st International Festival of Audiovisual Production of Biarritz (FIPA).

Nicolas Blies and Stéphane Hueber-Blies, referred as the Blies brothers, are two French filmmakers, producers, and artists who create their works together.

Biography

In 2013, they conceptualized the documentary music transmedia Soundhunters in co-production with the French-German TV channel ARTE. Soundhunters was imagined to transform the world into an infinite musical instrument. It is the first part of the collection "Inhabiting the world poetically". The transmedia is released in 2015 in collaboration with many international artists including Jean Michel Jarre, Simonne Jones, or Blixa Bargeld. In 2016, the Blies brothers are invited to present their work at Lincoln Center during the New York Film Festival. The project is placed in 2016 under the high patronage of UNESCO.

In 2019, they wrote and directed their first feature film Zero Impunity (2019). The film had its world premiere in March 2019 at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Greece) before being in official competition at the Annecy Film Festival (France) and then at the Moscow International Film Festival or the Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA). Marcel Jean (artistic director of the Annecy Film Festival) said in Le Film Français that Zero Impunity is "the perfect example of what we want to do with Contrechamp (the new feature-length competition section)". Le Figaro identifies the film as "a hard-hitting film" that "left Annecy speechless". And Première describes the film as "impressive". In 2021, the film was nominated for the Trophées Francophones du Cinéma in the category "Best Documentary".

The film is the centerpiece of an international social impact transmedia project denouncing the impunity of sexual violence in wartime. The transmedia project is built as an "active media that promotes the liberation of the word and thus fights against impunity". The Zero Impunity media, supported by more than 400,000 citizens around the world, was launched with the publication of the first investigation L'ADN de Sangaris in Médiapart (France), Internazionale (Italy), InfoLibre (Spain), Le Desk (Morocco), Inkyfada (Tunisia), Correctiv (Germany), Le Jeudi and Tageblatt (Luxembourg). For Edwy Plenel, Zero Impunity is "a peaceful weapon". The transmedia wins the FIPA d'Or 2017 and gets a selection at the Visa d'Or de l'information France TV. The filmmakers were invited to participate in numerous conferences, notably in the presence of Dr. Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize 2018) at the University of Angers. 

In April 2021, they also decided to devote themselves to an intimate work (cinema and theater) on the traumas of their own childhood, as well as on the intergenerational traumas that inhabit their family history.

Jury

In 2020, the Blies brothers are members of the feature film jury section "Contrechamp" of the 44th International Animation Film Festival of Annecy. In 2018, Nicolas Blies is a member of the jury section "National Documentary" and Stéphane Hueber-Blies member and president of the section "Innovation Award" at the 31st International Festival of Audiovisual Production of Biarritz (FIPA).

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