Blue Orchids

In Blue Orchids, Johan Grimonprez creates a double portrait of two experts situated on opposite ends of the same issue—the global arms trade. The stories of Chris Hedges, a former New York Times war correspondent, and Riccardo Privitera, arms dealer for the now-defunct Talisman Europe Ltd, provide an unusual and disturbing context for shocking revelations about the industry of war.

While interviewing Privitera and Hedges for his feature Shadow World, released in 2016, it became clear to Grimonprez that the two men were describing the same anguish and trauma, but from diametrically opposed perspectives. One has dedicated his life to unmasking lies, while the other has built his life on them.

Both their personal and political histories gradually reveal the depth of the suffering and the extent of the duplicity involved, showing that the arms trade is a symptom of a profound illness: greed.