The murder of Jamal Kashoggi has caused horror worldwide: On October 2, 2018, the well-known journalist and critic of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
He wants to pick up documents for the wedding with his Turkish fiancée. He never gets out of the administration building alive. The documentary “The Dissident” on Thursday at 10:25 p.m. on 3sat recounts the horrible events.
The two-hour film by director Bryan Vogel clearly explains the connections with numerous interviews. In addition to Kashoggi’s fiancée, the Turkish police and public prosecutor’s office also have their say. Likewise friends of the journalist, the UN special rapporteur, media makers. Even if one may still wonder who he is at the beginning of the film: a young dissident and activist, who worked with Kashoggi and, according to his own statements, continues to fear for his life in Canada, plays a central role. In addition, videos, photos and recordings from the embassy are shown, which once again make it unmistakably clear to which deadly structure of power and manipulation Kashoggi fell victim.
At times the lines between thriller and documentary blur. This may be mainly due to the topic. A hit at the consulate. A ruler who seems to be getting away with it. Through elaborate computer animations and montages and the use of sound effects, the film also gets a cinematic character, which gives it the potential to bring the topic closer to people who are less interested and who are less fond of documentaries.
According to the Oscar-winning director, it was about much more than investigating the horrific killing of Kashoggi. In an interview about the documentary, he said it had become apparent that neither the US nor the other G20 countries nor the EU had any interest in “punishing the assassins or imposing sanctions”.
Bryan Fogel received an Oscar for best documentary for his previous film “Ikarus” about Russian state doping, which was produced for Netflix in 2017. At the 2018 awards ceremony, he said: “We hope Icarus is a wake-up call, yes, about Russia, but even more so about the importance of telling the truth. Now more than ever.” The same probably applies to his successor documentary – and in this case Saudi Arabia.
