Brownstein: Montrealer's 'most dangerous film' probes free speech on college campuses |
As titles go, a documentary called Speechless — dealing with battles over free speech, among other hot-button issues raging on college campuses — couldn’t be more apt.
Speechless, directed/produced by Ric Esther Bienstock, will touch nerves and will provoke no matter where people stand on these issues. It will also make for compelling yet frightening viewing. And it will indeed leave many speechless.
The three-hour documentary will be presented in two commercial-free, 90-minute segments on CBC Television, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. It will also be available for streaming on CBC Gem as of Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Bienstock is without doubt one of the most respected doc filmmakers on this continent. The Montreal native’s works have been screened at just about every film festival and just about on every TV network imaginable and have earned her a mantle full of awards, including a 2024 Silver Circle Emmy Award, recognizing 25 years of significant and impactful contributions to the industry. She was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for raising awareness of global events and conflicts through film.
Bienstock has navigated some mighty turbulent waters over the course of her career. She has been at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak, has gone undercover in Turkey to find a trafficked woman, has exposed corruption in the boxing universe and has tracked down Dr. Frankenstein, the world’s most notorious organ dealer. But Speechless is in a class all its own.
“I’m making what might be the most dangerous film of my career … I’m going back to school,” Bienstock notes as the film commences.
The project started over a decade back. Her two kids were set to start university and she was concerned how they might fare in light of the fact that “clashes over speech and identity had put universities in the crosshairs of a political backlash.”
The “left-leaning” Bienstock recalls in a phone interview undergoing protest times as a........