Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

3 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

3 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

3 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

3 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

3 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

4 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

4 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

4 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
Khashoggi Doc, Too Explosive for Streaming, Debuts On-Demand
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 5, 2021

Share

NEW YORK — Even before “The Dissident” made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, director Bryan Fogel had a sense that his explosive Jamal Khashoggi documentary was going to be a tough sell.

The film was one of the most anticipated of last January’s Sundance. Fogel’s previous film, “Icarus,” about Russian doping in the Olympics, won the Academy Award for best documentary. “The Dissident” features audio recordings of Khashoggi’s murder, the participation of Khashoggi’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, and details on Saudi hacking efforts, including the infiltration of the cellphone of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The audience at Sundance included Hillary Clinton, Alec Baldwin and Reed Hastings, the Netflix chief executive.

At the screening, Fogel implored media companies not to be scared off. “In my dream of dreams, distributors will stand up to Saudi Arabia,” he said. Riding in an SUV to the film’s Sundance after-party, an upbeat Fogel said he was hopeful that Netflix, Amazon, HBO or others would step forward — anyone that could give the film a global platform for Khashoggi’s story, which plays as a lethal, real-life geopolitical thriller in “The Dissident.”

But the rough road ahead for “The Dissident” had already been signaled. None of the streamers — many of whom bought up Sundance’s top films — had asked for an advance look at “The Dissident” before the festival — something that could be expected for such a high-profile documentary from a filmmaker coming off an Oscar win.

“Many of the major streamers were actually there that day. Not their heads of content. Their CEOs. I would have hoped that would have led to: ‘We’re going to get behind this film.’ But it didn’t,” said Fogel speaking by Zoom from Los Angeles last month. “We didn’t have an offer for $1 let alone $1 million — let alone the $12 million paid for ‘Boys State,’ which is a wonderful film, but it’s about 17-year-old boys playing mock politics in Texas.”

“The Dissident,” set in a ruthlessly real political realm, will finally debut on-demand Friday. It was eventually acquired last spring, in a deal announced in September, by Briarcliff Entertainment, the independent distributor founded by Tom Ortenberg, the veteran film executive who distributed “Spotlight” and “Snowden” as chief executive of Open Road Films. After a two-week run in about 200 theaters (scaled down from 800 due to the pandemic), “The Dissident” will be available for rent on places like iTunes, Amazon and Roku.

Netflix, Other Streamers Have Played a Vital Role in Growing Audiences for Documentaries

But the cool reception from larger media companies to “The Dissident” — not because it wasn’t good (it has a 97% fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating from critics and a 99% rating from audiences ) or important but because it openly challenges the Saudi regime’s crackdown on free speech — raises questions about the future of political films on ever-larger and potentially increasingly risk-averse streaming services.

Netflix et al have played a vital role in exponentially growing audiences for documentaries. But in hunting globally for subscriber growth, media companies have sometimes capitulated to demands that border on censorship. In 2019, Netflix removed an episode of Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” that condemned the cover-up of Khashoggi’s murder after a Saudi complaint. Last month, The New York Times reported Apple chief executive Tim Cook squashed an Apple TV+ series in development about Gawker. Negative depictions of China, for both old-line Hollywood studios and streamers, is typically off the table.

“When there’s huge money at stake — business interest, shareholder accountability, what is going to make us vanilla and not cause us stress — is winning over,” Fogel says. “As these companies become bigger and bigger, we’re seeing the choices they make, including content, become less and less risky.”

For Fogel, the experience of “The Dissident” mirrors the silencing of Khashoggi. The film, financed by the Human Rights Foundation, details a plot to kill Khashoggi, a former Saudi insider turned Washington Post columnist who made moderate pleas for his native country to embrace freedom of speech and human rights. When picking up paperwork for his marriage to Hatice Cengiz at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018, he was murdered and his body was sawed into pieces. Intelligence reports concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing. Mohammed denied Saudi Arabia was behind the murder, then eventually granted it was carried out by agents of the Saudi government. Mohammed has claimed it wasn’t by his orders.

“The Dissident” includes interviews with Cengiz, Turkish authorities and United Nations investigators who deduced that Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, was hacked by a malicious file sent from the personal WhatsApp account of Mohammed. The same hacking scheme was allegedly used on the exiled activist Omar Abdulaziz, an associate of Khashoggi’s. “The Dissident” ultimately questions why countries and companies continue to do business with a country that resorts to such methods, jailing and killing dissidents.

“I hope this film will keep alive Jamal’s name and Jamal’s life and his values,” says Cengiz, speaking by phone from Istanbul. “I hope people will ask more and more and more.”

President Donald Trump has declined to blame Mohammed for the murder, and is quoted in Bob Woodward’s latest book bragging that he “saved” the crown prince. President-elect Joe Biden has signaled a tougher stance with Saudi Arabia. Cengiz has called on the CIA to declassify its investigation into the killing.

Fogel Is Also Clear-Eyed About the Potential Dangers

She has also carried on Khashoggi’s mission. “It wasn’t my choice but it’s my life,” she says. That American movie companies may have been scared away from “The Dissident,” she says, is “disappointing.”

“I could not imagine that they will not buy this film because this film is talking about a very important crime in history,” Cengiz says. “This film talks about someone who fought for some very important values. That’s why they killed him. So that’s why we’re fighting.”

In particular, Netflix’s shying away from “The Dissident” is “incredibly disappointing,” Fogel said. “Icarus” won Netflix its first Oscar. A spokesperson for Netflix declined to comment on the company passing on “The Dissident.” In November, the streamer inked a production deal with the Saudi studio Telfaz11 for eight movies.

But Fogel is also clear-eyed about the potential dangers associated with distributing “The Dissident,” musing about the possibility of Saudi hacking or a Middle East boycott of a distributor.

“Ultimately, those risk assessments took the place of whether or not their couple hundred million subscribers would like to see this film,” Fogel says. “It wasn’t just Netflix, but it was universal. What I think Hollywood learned from the Sony hack is that the risk of embarrassment is too high.”

Ortenberg, on the other hand, was comfortable with any headaches “The Dissident” might bring. “The movie speaks for itself,” Ortenberg says, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. He’s putting “The Dissident” forward for awards consideration.

“It’s too bad,” Ortenberg says of other studios’ apprehension. “I always saw the entertainment movie studios as leading the charge on important topics and not shying away from controversy but actually embracing challenges, and embracing the challenge of making movies about important subjects and treating them respectfully.”

Fogel sees a lack of international and corporate will to respond to human rights abuses that’s only growing worse, in Hollywood and elsewhere. Last week, Saudi state security court sentenced 31-year-old Loujiain Al-Hathloul to more than five years in prison for tweets that advocated women’s right to drive and argued against male guardianship regulations. Imprisoned since May 2018, she has said she was tortured and sexually assaulted by masked men during interrogations.

“I do believe that people in positions of power like that, with wealth and resources, if they’re not willing to stand up for human rights abuses like this, for what I consider the greater good of the planet, it becomes an increasingly scary place for us to live,” Fogel says. “We all become less safe.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DON'T MISS

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

DON'T MISS

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

DON'T MISS

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

DON'T MISS

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

DON'T MISS

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

UP NEXT

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

UP NEXT

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

UP NEXT

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

UP NEXT

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

UP NEXT

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

UP NEXT

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

UP NEXT

Hamas Says It Won’t Disarm Unless Independent Palestinian State Established

UP NEXT

Corruption Scandal Puts Mexico’s President on Defense Against Trump

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

15 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

15 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

15 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

15 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

16 hours ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

17 hours ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

17 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

1 day ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

2 days ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

2 days ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DUBAI — The commander-in-chief of Iran’s military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state me...

15 hours ago

Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami attends a meeting in the Iranian Army's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2025. AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
15 hours ago

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at a press conference to make an announcement on recognizing Palestinian statehood, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

World Aquatics Championships - Women 4x100m Medley Relay Final - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 3, 2025 Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the U.S. celebrate after winning the final and making a new world record REUTERS/Edgar Su
15 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

A view shows Alabama Fertility, an IVF clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., February, 23, 2024. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

15 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

The Gifford Fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as of Sunday, August 3, 2025, prompting multiple evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 166 as crews work to contain the fast-moving wildfire. (CalFire)
16 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend