Selected Works
DIG FESTIVAL
SURVIVING SYRIA’S PRISONS
In December 2024, the world witnessed the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad after 13 years of civil war. This momentous event uncovered a sinister legacy: that of over 100,000 citizens who disappeared during the regime, vanished into impenetrable prisons and mass graves. Surviving Syria’s Prisons reveals one of the most brutal campaigns of repression in contemporary history, through the accounts of those who suffered it and those who imposed it, such as intelligence officers and prison guards who supervised torture and executions. Their confessions are interwoven with the powerful story of two brothers who survived the Syrian prison system, forming a narrative canvas from which the brutality perpetrated by the Assad regime against its own citizens emerges.
Lenght 74 min. English and Arabic with sub. Ita and Eng
directed by: Sasha Joelle Achilli, Sara Obeidat production: BBC distribution: BBC Two, PBS Frontline country of origin: United Kingdom date: June 2025
ANTIDOTE
In Putin’s Russia, telling the truth can kill you. Antidote recounts the personal stories of a few courageous citizens who decided to challenge the Kremlin’s tyranny, revealing the profound human cost of fighting against a regime that will stop at nothing. The documentary brings us the testimony of a whistleblower on the run, a political activist poisoned twice, and an investigative journalist threatened after exposing Putin’s murder machine: chilling truths about how the regime uses an iron fist to silence protests and plunge the country into a perpetual state of terror.
Lenght: 89 min.
English, Russian and Bulgarian with sub. Ita and Eng
directed by: James Jones production: Impact Partners, Submarine, Passion Pictures, Bellingcat distribution: Channel 4 country of origin: United Kingdom production countries: Austria, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America. data: March 2025
Info
Tickets
SINGLE ADMISSION TICKET €5,00 per film
Accessibility
These films contain images that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewing is recommended for adult audiences only.
Event accessible to people with reduced mobility.
DIG – Documentari Inchieste Giornalismi is an association based in Modena that supports the crucial role of investigative journalism in democratic societies. Their motto is “I wanna be your watchdog,” evoking the watchdog role that the press should always assume in holding power to account. The acronym “DIG” also refers to the act of digging—to dig in English—an allusion to the courageous work of investigation and truth-seeking carried out by reporters and investigative journalists around the world.
For the past ten years, DIG has organized a five-day event, the DIG Festival, with the aim of showcasing the best of international journalism and giving visibility to voices and stories that remain invisible in mainstream media, inviting journalists, documentary filmmakers, whistleblowers, activists, writers, and artists to take the stage.
During the DIG Festival, the DIG Awards are also presented, recognizing and celebrating the best international journalistic works in audio and video formats. As part of the second edition of LIFE, two documentaries from the DIG Awards 2025 will be presented.
