Paul Moreira

Paul Moreira (born 1961 near Lisbon, Portugal) is a French journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is based in Paris, France. He has directed several investigative documentaries in conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Israel, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Paul Moreira has contributed to the emergence of investigative journalism on French television.^[1] In 1999, in created "90 minutes" on Canal plus, a European television network. The investigations of his team collected several prestigious French awards. Some of their films like the one about the murder disguised as suicide of Judge Borrel contributed to reopen criminal investigations.^[2] Following the success of the show and at the request of the management of Canal Plus, he created a weekly slot dedicated to investigative documentaries: Lundi Investigation. Award winning movies were commissioned and broadcast. Like "Escadrons de la mort : l'école française" by Marie Monique Robin.^[3] This film got the award of the political documentary of "Audiovisual Club" of French senate in 2003, best investigative film at FIGRA, award of merit from Latin American Studies Association.^[4]

In 2006, Paul Moreira left Canal Plus to create an independent TV production company: Premieres Lignes (First Lines). Since then, he has been developing a line of investigative and comprehensive films on global issues. He works on assignment for various French channels: Canal Plus, Arte, France Televisions, La Chaine Parlementaire. His films have been broadcast in most European countries as well as Canada, India, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Russia...

In 2007, he published an essay on journalism, public relations, war reporting at the embeddment age and perception management.^[5]

Filmography (selected works)

2003

• "In The Jungle of Baghdad": Looting and chaos that followed US forces invasion of Iraq. (Canal+)

2004

• "Baghdad: War of bombs": the fighting in Sadr City in September 2004. (Canal+)
• "The Power of the Armed Rebels": meeting the young fighters who were challenging the Palestinian authority, among them Zakaria Zubeidi, head of Martyrs Brigades Al Aqsa in Jenin, then most wanted man for the Israel Defense Forces.

Award of the best feature story from the Club Audiovisuel de Paris in 2005.

2007

• "Iraq: Agony of a Nation": At the height of the confessional strife in Baghdad, an investigation on the roots of the civil war. (Canal Plus)

Best documentary at the International Monte-Carlo Television Festival^[6] and best investigative film at Festival International du Grand Reportage d'Actualités (FIGRA).

2008

• "Armes, trafic et raison d'état," a 90 minutes film on the flow of weapons pouring into Eastern Congo Arte TV, a French-German channel, co-directed by Paul Moreira and David Andre.

Investigative Award at FIGRA.

2009

• "Afghanistan: on the dollar trail", a 52 minutes documentary on corruption and embezzlement of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.^[7] Broadcast on Canal Plus, ABC Australia, NHK (Japan), Russia Today, Al Jazeera, TVE (Spain), Finland, Netherlands and others. Investigative Award in FIGRA and selected for the first edition of Investigative Film Week in London.

2010

• "Burma: Resistance, Business and Nuclear Secrets": an undercover documentary in Myanmar that reveals how Alcatel-Shanghai-Bell, the Chinese branch of Alcatel, is helping the junta control the internet.^[8]

2011

• "Wikileaks : War, Lies and Videotape" : an in-depth investigative documentary about Wikileaks. First broadcast by La Chaine Parlementaire, the film was circulated worldwide. Shown in the USA on Current TV and on Discovery Channel.
• "Bunker cities", a 52 minutes documentary about gated communities in Europe, Brazil and Iraq. (Arte)
• "Toxic Somalia", an investigative film about the toxic waste dumped on Somalian coasts with a rare access to pirates from Hobyo, children hospital in Mogadishu and Italian trafficking networks. (Arte)

Special Award of the Jury at Ilaria Alpi Film Festival^[9]

2012

• "Tracked : Investigating digital arms dealers", western companies selling tracking devices to middle eastern dictatorships, Syria and Libya.(Canal+)

Selected at the London Investigative Film Week in January 2013^[10]

2013

• "Big Tobacco, Young Targets", a documentary uncovering how tobacco companies are targeting children worldwide.^[11] (Canal+)

UK Premiere at the London Investigative Film Week in 2014^[12]

• "Journey through an invisible war", a 60 minutes film on the low intensity conflict between Israeli settlers and Palestinian in the West Bank. (Canal Plus, Al Jazeera^[13])

2016

• "Ukraine The Masks of the Revolution", a documentary about role of extreme right-wing paramilitary groups in Ukraine during and after the overthrow of the Yanukovych government, and especially in the violence in Odessa in May 2014.^[14] FIPA (Festival International des Programmes Audiovisuels) included this documentary among its 2016 selections.^[15] The documentary was criticised by the pro-Ukrainian Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group for "pro-Russian bias" and "outright lies".^[16] The Ukrainian Embassy in France asked Canal+ to stop the screening of the film.^[17] The channel went ahead with the screening.^[16] Due to popular demand, the film was shown several more times on Canal+. The film was also translated into several languages, and shown in other countries, such as Italy and Poland.^[18]

Civic involvement

Moreira is heading a campaign Liberté d'Informer,^[19] a civic society movement to align the restrictive French law on the more transparent American Freedom of Information Act model. A petition has gathered nearly 6,000 signatures and a strong public interest.

References

1. http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/tele/la-tele-mene-l-enquete_741788.html
2. fr:Affaire Borrel
3. fr:Escadrons de la mort, l'école française
4. http://www.mediapart.fr//club/edition/torture-made-usa/article/121009/la-realisatrice-marie-monique-robin
5. Paul Moreira (29 June 2007). "The information age: George Orwell's worst fear".
6. http://www.biosstars.com/festival/mc/2007/palmares.html
7. "Interview: Journalist Claims USAID Over-estimated Schools Built in Afghanistan". International Affairs Review. 28 March 2010.
8. "Investigative documentary digs into Alcatel's involvement in Burma". France 24. 27 March 2010.
9. http://www.ilariaalpi.it/?p=4922
10. http://www.tcij.org/film-week/tracked
11. http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1439
12. http://www.tcij.org/film-week/big-tobacco-young-targets
13. http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2014/03/journey-into-an-invisible-war-20143248374757523.html
14. Paul Moreira. "Ukraine, masks of the revolution". Vimeo. Premières Lignes. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
15. "Ukraine, les Masques de la Révolution". Festival International des Programmes Audiovisuels. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
16. "Ukraine Today: France's Canal+ airs controversial Ukraine Revolution expose despite protests". February 2, 2016.
17. http://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2016/01/31/7097374/
18. "Ukraine calls screening of film on Maidan on Polish TV "unfriendly gesture"". TASS. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
19. Liberté d'Informer

• "Paul Moreira". Arte TV.