A moving and intimate portrayal of one father’s fight to save his son, Ithaka: A Fight to Free Julian Assange exposes the brutal realities of the campaign to free Julian Assange.
ABC and Screen Australia are delighted to announce that this special 2x60mins ABC factual series will air from Tuesday 7 June at 8.30pm on ABC TV, with both episodes available to stream on ABC iview the same day.
Written and directed by the award-winning Ben Lawrence (Ghosthunter, Hearts and Bones), produced by Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton and with an original score by Brian Eno, Ithaka was filmed over two years across the UK, Europe, and the US, and follows 76-year-old retired builder, John Shipton’s tireless campaign to save his son, Julian Assange.
The world’s most famous political prisoner, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has become an emblem of an international arm wrestle over freedom of journalism, government corruption and unpunished war crimes. Now with Julian facing a 175 year sentence if extradited to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system.
This David-and-Goliath struggle is personal – and, with Julian’s health declining in a British maximum-security prison and American government prosecutors attempting to extradite him to face trial in the US, the clock is ticking.
Weaving historic archive and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, this story tracks John’s journey alongside Julian’s wife Stella Moris, as they join forces to advocate for Julian. We witness John embark on a European odyssey to rally a global network of supporters, advocate to politicians and cautiously step into the media’s glare – where he is forced to confront events that made Julian a global flashpoint.
Ithaka provides a timely reminder of the global issues at stake in this case, as well as an insight into the personal toll inflicted by the arduous, often lonely task of fighting for a cause bigger than oneself.
A Shipton House Production. Principal Production funding by Screen Australia in association with Film Victoria. Produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Produced by Gabriel Shipton and Adrian Devant. Written and Directed by Ben Lawrence. Executive Producer Roger Savage. Original Music by Brian Eno. ABC Manager of Documentary Stephen Oliver. Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.
Why Julian Assange’s freedom (on which press freedom and Australian sovereignty depend) is not a prime election issue right now is beyond me. Obviously it needs a mass people’s movement to get any traction. Anyone who tells you protest and people’s power does not make change is scared you will find out it is the only thing that ever has. It is also very disappointing this film was not aired on ABC a month ago.