I Have Not The Courage To Remain Silent

feature documentary in production
release date: 2025

What connects the security of your phone, the disappearance of a citizen for a tweet, and Emirati influence on the global stage?

The United Arab Emirates is the fantasy frontier where hi-tech dreams of smart cities and a frictionless economy are being realised today. In its preparations for a post-oil future, it is also an aggressive investor on a global scale. Emirati engineer, poet, commentator and father of four Ahmed Mansoor has over decades reflected cogently on his country’s attempts to modernise while remaining a hereditary sheikhdom – lacking democracy, free speech, and an independent judiciary. For his efforts, he has endured years of state surveillance and harassment, including a spyware attack that exposed a crucial vulnerability of the iPhone to the world.

This film traces international flows of capital and information and technological visions of progress alongside deteriorating human rights regimes and disempowerment of ordinary citizens – revealing how the brutal treatment of Mansoor is an affront and threat to us all.

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