When I was at university the average fee total per year for most students – and it was royally lambasted! – was around the princely sum of $1400. And no, I didn’t miss out any zeros. Education was relatively affordable and scholarships plentiful, but despite this many students I know still racked up massive debts… usually due to road trips, nice cars to complete said road trips in and reluctance to enter into part-time work in case it interfered with the aforementioned long weekends. But I digress! It was a messy situation then and the impact of student loan debt even more so now, but it pales in comparison to the situation in the United States, as outlined by tonight’s documentary, IVORY TOWER.

As tuition rates spiral beyond reach in North America and student loan debt passes an insane USD$1 trillion (more than credit card debt), the film asks: is college worth the cost? Filmmaker Andrew Rossi travels to everywhere from the halls of Harvard, to public colleges in financial crisis, to Silicon Valley, in order to paint a pretty grim portrait of a great American institution at breaking point. It emerges that colleges, long regarded as leaders in higher education, have come to embrace a business model that often promotes expansion over quality learning… and students are indeed suffering.

The film is thought-provoking, and includes some interesting situations and scenarios that I really would have liked to see explored more than they were, with a few less stats flying across the screen. Its look at Harvard University, the first American college, as the “source of DNA” for all colleges was fascinating. The famous university’s influence on pretty much every single higher education institution in the United States is second to none, and it appears that it cares. One thing that Harvard does that few other schools do is provide full-need scholarships to anyone it deems to need financial assistance. It appears only 1.25 percent of colleges in the country offer full need-based scholarships, which is quite astounding. Even more interesting is the fact that it effectively means that a middle-class student can expect to pay more at a public university than at Harvard. 

In less philanthropic news, it was interesting to observe the wild competition between learning institutions when it comes to what can only be called “added extras”. When one school offers an amenity, the rest follow, one-upping each other at every turn. So when the University of Missouri and the University of Alabama have fancy swimming pools, others think about adding them to their campus. Incredibly, some schools even have tanning beds available for students wanting to get that golden glow – I mean, COME ON.

One of the most fast-paced parts of the film concerned Cooper Union, a renowned Manhattan college that was founded on the radical model of free education and continued to provide this tuition-free learning for decades. Then it all changed. Dramatically. Along came a new President, Jamshed Bharucha, who concluded that the school could no longer survive without charging students to learn there. Unsurprisingly, chaos ensued. Critics were quick to point out the debt amassed by the construction of a very expensive new building on campus and the $800k+ salary of their new leader, who in all honesty seems like a right tool. Amazingly, its students did what so many critics of millennials claim they no longer do: they staged a proper protest. In the form of a sit-in in the President’s office, no less! I won’t give away what happened next, you’ll have to tune in tonight and find out.

In conclusion, although the film is a little flawed itself, IVORY TOWER raises a number of fascinating questions about the current, deeply messed up state of the American system of higher education. It gets the conversation started and also serves as a warning to other countries around the world falling dangerously close to a similar model.

 IVORY TOWER premieres on Thursday 16 March at 8.30pm on Rialto Channel SKY 039

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I think I’ve confessed on this blog before that I am a proud Luddite, a late adopter if ever there was one and someone whose eyes often glaze over when it comes to all things ‘puter-related. I can type and navigate my Mac quite well though thank god, or I wouldn’t be talking to you now!

But enough about me, and more about tonight’s documentary ZERO DAYS, some of which went way over my head but still had me on the edge of my seat. The film has been called “investigative journalism meets conspiracy thriller”, and the deft hand of the amazing Alex Gibney (Going Clear) has ensured that even an idiot like me can get the gist of what it’s all about – enough to be very, very afraid.

A chilling and challenging documentary, it has as its primary central focus Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware that has famously been used against Iranian centrifuges. Where the conspiracy part comes in is the fact that it has claimed by many to have originated as a joint effort between America and Israel, and initiated by none other that George W. Bush. Following the invasion of Iraq, Bush faced an Israel that was threatening to bomb Iran, which it claimed was developing nuclear weapons with the express aim of destroying the Jewish state. The then-president felt trapped between a rock and a hard place: a nuclear Iran, or Israel starting a war that the U.S. would inevitably be drawn into. Offered a third way, he okayed the development of the aforementioned cyber-warfare campaign against Iran that linked the NSA, the CIA and the Defense Department with Israel and Mossad.

The ease at which this all plays out is where the film’s secondary focus comes in – cyber warfare as the bigger picture. The threat of compromised cyber security has become our planet's new weapon of mass destruction, a fact that is clear even to the likes of me. ZERO DAYS explores the growing concern that the disintegration of online safety has set the stage for potential physical dangers as well, and that is no less than terrifying. "Our entire power supply can be cut off," a chilling we voiceover emphasizes near the beginning of the film. "Our systems can be taken over. Hospitals deprived of power would cease to function. It's not if, it's when. "It paints a frightening portrait of a cyber world that is growing far too large and expanding too rapidly to contain, and god knows where it can end up. "The bottom line is we are putting so much vulnerable, hackable, connected technology into so many places that this makes us prone to the willpower of any potential adversary or foe," says interview subject and computer security activist Joshua Corman, a man who knows what he’s talking about.

So in conclusion, ZERO DAYS is an essential watch, especially in light of the Trump/Russia connection and in the face of a terror that makes the nuclear war threat of old look like child’s play. Gibney is a documentary-maker who isn’t afraid to go where other filmmakers dare not, and this makes for one hell of a ride. I was interested to read that he is currently developing a “Zero Days” miniseries, working with Universal’s Carnival subsidiary with a screenplay by “The Americans” writer and executive producer Stephen Schiff. For now however, the reality is compelling enough on its own.

 ZERO DAYS premieres Thursday 9th March at 8.30pm Rialto Channel.  Click here to remote record

Drones are fun, right? They go where you can’t when you want to take some awesome footage to load up to Facebook, they even deliver pizzas thanks to the lovely people at Dominos! Well love 'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay. And as well as being a pretty cool toy (if you’re that way inclined) they can do some serious stuff. They serve a serious purpose in the form of military drones, which can eliminate enemy threats without placing boots on a battlefield, and with minimal fallout. Or so we’re told.

You’ll find a very different take on drones in tonight’s documentary, NATIONAL BIRD - a sinister one, as recounted by people who know them well. Using the testimony of three courageous whistleblowers who worked on the US drone programme, this documentary uncovers some disturbing truths about modern American warfare, and doesn’t make for easy viewing.

The film follows the dramatic journey of the three aforementioned courageous people who are determined to break the silence around one of the most controversial current affairs issues of our time: the secret U.S. drone war. Plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, the three have decided to speak out publicly… and despite the possible consequences.

Directed by Sonia Kennebeck and executive-produced by Wim Wenders, NATIONAL BIRD carefully weaves together the stories of Lisa, Daniel and Heather, and it makes for affecting viewing. Heather, a former drone imagery analyst, suffers from chronic PTSD after watching remote video of people carrying away the body parts of loved ones. Daniel, a former signals intelligence analyst turned political activist, chooses his words carefully to protect himself from prosecution, but in the process learns that the US government is in fact investigating him under the Espionage Act. Lastly Lisa, a former tech sergeant on a drone surveillance system, is shown returning to Afghanistan to meet civilians victimised by U.S. strikes in truly incredible footage. 

We travel to meet the maimed survivors of a mistaken drone strike on unarmed civilians in February 2010, which killed 23 people. As they describe what happened when they were attacked we hear the words of the drone operatives at work at the time, re-enacted from a transcript of the event. The juxtaposition of their almost gleefully casual attitude and raw footage of the likes of dead bodies of children being returned to their families makes the blood boil. Lisa has made a point of visiting countries her unit once surveyed from above looking for targets with drones, wanting to see for herself just what happens to those affected by a strike that was initiated a world away.

The power of the film is down to the subjects and to the incredible work of Sonia Kennebeck, a super talented independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist who has worked for CNN and ARD German public television's highest-rated current affairs program, Panorama. She lives in Washington, D.C., where she runs her own production company Ten Forward Films and makes films about international politics and human rights, and has clearly done her research well. She artfully weaves in drone footage from an innocent American street to really push the point home that strikes can be easily applied to any location, and by any government.

Kennebeck also cleverly juxtaposes then-POTUS Barack Obama’s speeches about drones – in which he claims that they are able to take out insurgents without harming those around them – with the testimonies of those who know that this is untrue. By examining the tales of three very broken individuals, National Bird shows that war will always be hell, even for those who aren't on the battleground.

Amazingly, under the US 1917 Espionage Act, the film and the three whistleblowers are severely restricted in what they can say, but its images haunt the audience and bring a faraway issue close to home. In the words of one reviewer, NATIONAL BIRD shows us the personal cost of impersonal killing.

 NATIONAL BIRD premieres Thursday 2nd March 8.30pm on Rialto Channel

Just when you think you’ve heard every clever anecdote, happy tale and sad story about what it was like to be a soldier or correspondent in World War Two, along comes another one with a wonderful and compelling new twist. This takes a tale of combat and weaves into it an amazing story of artistic determination, and comes complete with a happy ending. How great is that?

Called UNDERFIRE, it’s an HBO Original Documentary about the inspirational Tony Vaccaro, a WWII infantryman who smuggled his $47.00 portable camera into battle and went on to create one of the most comprehensive and intimate records of the war ever recorded.

Back in 1944 Vaccaro was a young man with an eye for photography who decided he’d like to join the official photographic ranks of the U.S. Army's Signal Corps and do his bit. It was easy to see why: they had the admirable job of both relaying the news of the troops at work so that citizens could keep up with their battles, and documenting the action for future War Department records. It would be a career that endured, and provided a legacy.

However, as he recounts in tonight’s documentary, at 21 Vaccaro was told he was too young to qualify as an Army photographer, but didn’t let that dampen his spirits. Undeterred, and despite the knowledge that an infantryman was not supposed to be taking pictures, he decided to bring his aforementioned trusty camera along for the ride when he went to war, and he created something amazing. Vaccaro didn't just snap the occasional image, but an incredible document of what he saw. Before the war ended, he had taken more than 8,000 photos that offer a rare, close-up view of what a soldier on the front lines really sees. His vivid, candid work showed the war as it was actually experienced by the men who were fighting, and it is impossible not to be moved by it. In addition, the camera he used, an Argus C3, was smaller than the large, unwieldy Speed Graphic models the Signal Corps shooters employed. And because it was a 35mm range-finder camera, Vaccaro could react very quickly and shoot what he was seeing, as it happened.

On top of all of that, he became very resourceful when it came to the end result. Naive enough to believe he could find a camera shop on the European front to actually develop his negatives, Vaccaro instead found a shop that had been badly shelled. Picking through the ruins, he found the chemicals he needed and developed the film himself in four standard issue army helmets, hanging the negatives on nearby trees.

Highly decorated with medals such as the Legion of Honor from France, the World Press Photo Gold Medal, and the Art Director's Gold Medal, World War II veteran Vaccaro was also wounded in action - more than once - when fighting abroad. He told CNBC: "I did the war, Omaha beach to Berlin, and I was wounded twice, and I could have gotten killed many times”. He became familiar with death and dying, and photographed it with great respect and poignancy. "The Last Steps of Private Jack Rose" is a Vaccaro photo caught at the moment an explosion ended the man's life, whilst "White Death" is an image of the corpse of an American soldier partially covered in snow. Vaccaro later discovered the man was his close friend, Henry Tannenbaum.

Vowing never to return to war photography again, after he returned home and recovered from his experiences abroad Vaccaro chose to “show beauty to the world”. He went on to work with the likes of Harper's Bazaar as a fashion photographer, and soon to celebrate his 94th birthday, still shoots today. He is a wonderful subject and that is what makes this documentary such a joy.

UNDERFIRE premieres on Rialto Channel on Thursday 9th February at 8.30pm  

In 2008, actor turned editor and director Tom Meadmore set out to explore the lives of two independent music artists In Melbourne. Their names were Amanda Medica and Tony Jackson, and the end result was the many-years-in-the-making documentary showing on Rialto Channel tonight, HOW TO LOSE JOBS AND ALIENATE GIRLFRIENDS.

A critically acclaimed, warts-and-all film about the creative process, HOW TO LOSE JOBS AND ALIENATE GIRLFRIENDS also comes with an interesting twist (hint: it’s in the title). In his feature-length debut, Lonely Planet film editor turned budding documentarian Meadmore has turned the camera on not only two budding musicians, but they also happen to be his girlfriend (Amanda), and his boss (Tony).

Shooting the film began in 2008 but the editing wasn’t completed until 2013, by which time Meadmore was living in London, and you guessed it - single. A former actor who appeared briefly on Neighbours, Meadmore founded his own film company, Go Fish Films in 2001 but until tonight’s outing, was relatively unformed as a director. His bread and butter was reportedly editing and producing wedding videos, until he released GRACE, a short film that screened at several international film festivals, including the Warsaw International Film Festival, and the Palm Springs International Shortfest. Next up was HOW TO LOSE JOBS AND ALIENATE GIRLFRIENDS, which has had considerable success. It has played at festivals around the world including Cinequest Film Festival in the USA, the East End Film Festival in London and at Australia’s Splendour in the Grass, also garnering four-star critical acclaim from Total Film magazine upon its limited cinema release in the UK. 

Key to the film’s success I think is the personalities at its heart, including the director’s own. We get to look on as Meadmore’s own insecurities flare while struggling to “find a story” in the process of making the film, which is a factor that could definitely grate on some viewers. It can get hard to watch as he begins challenging his participants’ flaws on camera, inflicting his own opinion at times when they are vulnerable. It starts jeopardising the film, his relationships with Amanda and Tony and quite honestly, his career. Meadmore’s brutal insensitivity at times threatens to destroy two of the most important relationships in his life, and one wonders if he actually cares.

Amazingly, Meadmore actually managed to keep his job, even after having a major falling out with his boss as a result of the film. As aforementioned, his relationship with his girlfriend didn’t survive the process, which is no surprise. In hindsight, he has told interviewers he wouldn’t have done anything differently, though he admits to feeling a bit “shameful” when he thinks about “how untactful I was at times”. As an artist himself, his treatment of his subjects when they are wrestling with their own insecurities is quite bloody awful! Having said that, the film also has some hilarious moments, especially when Tom and Tony really start to butt heads.

A fun watch? I reckon, and I’ll be interested to watch Meadmore’s career develop...

HOW TO LOSE JOBS AND ALIENATE GIRLFRIENDS premieres Thursday 2 February on Rialto Channel

Stephen Holden said in his New York Times review of tonight’s documentary, DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON that the film “looks longingly back at the 1970s when a smart, tasteless joke could make you laugh out loud without worrying about hurting someone’s feelings or being attacked on social media”. Whether he’s lamenting the political correctness of today or applauding it is debatable, but when you consider the magazine published an article calling the Indian race “dismal, obsequious demi niggers whose gods have too many arms and legs” you know that even then, they took things too far. And then some.

From the 1970s through to the (very) early 1990s, it could be said that there was no hipper, no more outrageous comedy in print than the National Lampoon magazine. It was hailed as a groundbreaking, laugh out loud tome that pushed the limits of taste and acceptability - and then pushed them even harder. Parodying everything from politics, religion, entertainment and the whole of American lifestyle, the Lampoon eventually went on to morph into everything from successful radio shows to albums, live stage revues and hugely successful movies. Some, like ANIMAL HOUSE and NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION, launched dozens of huge careers that still continue today, and industry names like Judd Apatow list the Lampoon crew as akin to comedy gurus.

Director Douglas Tirola's DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD focuses mainly on all the glory years of National Lampoon: the drinks, drugs, clubs, parties… oh and smashing publishing records, too. It’s a fast-paced watch full of big personalities, and part of documentary’s easy charm lies in the fact that Tirola’s subjects are a group of messed up but very clever satirists, a cabal of misfits who at one time helped make National Lampoon the second most popular magazine in the US and a world-changing counter- cultural force.

Founders Doug Kenney and Henry Beard are the main subjects, a couple of damaged visionaries who, along with the help of publisher Matty Simmons, launched the magazine. For those not so familiar with its history, the National Lampoon magazine actually spun off a Harvard publication in 1970. It immediately went in hard on all manner of subject matter, with no holds barred. Politics, race, gender, the rich, the famous – they were all fair game and National Lampoon tore them to shreds.

The magazine’s New York office was reportedly a hub of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, with the brief being: do whatever the f**k you want, as long as a stellar magazine came out at the end of each month. It comes as no surprise to learn that women were ridiculously under-represented at the offices, and when they did land a job there it was generally as a nude model or as a writer who was almost always objectified by her co-workers

In 1974, the magazine’s monthly circulation apparently exceeded one million – an insane amount by any era’s standards. It’s funny to note though that even when sales were healthy, no ad agency in its right mind would recommend that their client buy space in there - the humour was just that irreverent. Deadline became like a coke-fuelled marathon that ensured they kept up with demand, and inevitably, there was a fall: think broken friendships, drug casualties, untimely deaths, and other assorted tragedies.

But back to tonight’s the documentary, which features rare and never before seen footage that will thrill comedy nerds and casual fans alike. The film is also the story of the generation of writers and performers who took over and reinvented American comedy after a kick start at Lampoon’s, like John Belushi, Christopher Guest, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Anne Beatts, Harold Ramis, John Hughes, Michael O'Donoghue and P.J. O'Rourke (who was responsible for the aforementioned, outrageously racist quote).

In conclusion, I found DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON to be a little one-sided, applauding generally bad behaviour a little too much for my liking. What it does do is truly give you the sense of how savage and uncompromising the National Lampoon was in its heyday - In the era of “social media mad c*nt Jimi Jackson” and questions like “is the Mad Butcher’s racist?” it is an interesting watch, especially given how far many of their jokes really did go.

DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON  premieres on Thursday 26 January on Rialto Channel