Ithaka: A Fight To Free Julian Assange

  • Notorious Julian Assange surrounded by hundreds of journalists and cameras
  • Whistleblower Julian Assange in a back seat of a car
  • A woman in a white jersey smiling as she speaks on the phone with Julian Assange
  • Hundreds of journalists and cameras attacking the spokespeople with microphones for comments on their exit from a tent with Free Julian Assange slogan

John & Gabriel Shipton IN PERSON, in conversation with Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation

The campaign to free Julian Assange takes on intimate dimensions in this portrait of a father’s fight to save his son.

“This film is effectively an answer to Laura Poitras’ critical documentary RISK from 2016….” – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe and the US, this documentary follows 76 year-old retired builder, John Shipton’s tireless campaign to save his son, Julian Assange.

The world’s most famous political prisoner, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has become an emblem of an international arm wrestle over freedom of journalism, government corruption and unpunished war crimes.
Now with Julian facing a 175 year sentence if extradited to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system.

This David-and-Goliath struggle is personal – and, with Julian’s health declining in a British maximum-security prison and American government prosecutors attempting to extradite him to face trial in the US , the clock is ticking.

Weaving historic archive and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, this story tracks John’s journey alongside Julian’s fiancée, Stella Moris, as they join forces to advocate for Julian. We witness John embark on a European odyssey to rally a global network of supporters, advocate to politicians and cautiously step into the media’s glare – where he is forced to confront events that made Julian a global flashpoint.

Ithaka provides a timely reminder of the global issues at stake in this case, as well as an insight into the personal toll inflicted by the arduous, often lonely task of fighting for a cause bigger than oneself.

Written & Directed by Ben Lawrence. Produced by Gabriel Shipton. With John Shipton, Stella Moris, Ai Weiwei, Vivienne Westwood, Daniel Ellsberg & John Pilger. Original Music by Brian Eno. Australia. DCP. 111 mins.

Listen to the Belmarsh Tribunal on Julian Assange & Press Freedom – Fri, Jan. 20, 11am.
Runtime
1h 51m
Director
Ben Lawrence
Format
2D Digital
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