Among the documentaries examining dishonesty and corruption in this year’s Fraud Film Festival is Best Documentary nominee Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
In a case of great timing, the Auckland festival’s screening takes place approximately 51 hours before its director, Steve James (Hoop Dreams) finds out if he has won an Oscar.
Other films screening to the public on Saturday March 3 include ethical investment hedge fund tussle Betting on Zero and Alex Gibney’s Lance Armstrong dissection The Armstrong Lie. Read on for full details from the festival media release.
The Fraud Film Festival returns to Auckland in March to deliver two full days of films and documentaries about fraud and its prevention, each followed by a live discussion with experts.
Saturday March 3 sees the public invited to ASB Waterfront Theatre for films and panels on the topic, including the chance to see a 2018 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary.
Programme Director Steve Newall [hey, that’s a familiar name – Ed.] says “We are really excited about how our 2018 selections will promote thought and discussion about fraud, and also about screening an Oscar contender just days ahead of this year’s awards”.
Best Documentary nominee Abacus: Small Enough to Jail follows the prosecution of a small New York neighbourhood bank which serves the local Chinese community. Abacus alerted the authorities to the fraudulent behaviour of an employee but then found itself subject to the first US federal bank prosecution since 1991.
Director Steve James will find out on March 5, NZ time, if his film has won the Academy Award.
A billionaire investor is an unlikely heroic champion of the people in Betting on Zero. The documentary shows how hedge fund titan Bill Ackman used his resources to take on a publicly traded company, accused by Ackman of being a pyramid scheme. When a rival activist investor enters the fray to thwart his plan, the pair wage a battle over Herbalife’s stock price, Betting On Zero highlights the power of ethical investment and fraud on the broadest corporate scale.
Both of these films will be followed by panels of industry experts moderated by journalists, exploring the themes raised during the preceding documentaries.
The closing film of the festival, The Armstrong Lie, comes from award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. Having at one point set out to film Lance Armstrong’s comeback, this remarkable documentary sees Gibney grill the disgraced athlete mere hours after Armstrong’s infamous “confession” to Oprah Winfrey.
At the conclusion of the film, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong’s – Kiwi Tour de France cyclist Stephen Swart – will take part in a Q&A on stage, talking about how he helped expose Lance Armstrong and the impact it had on him.
NZ International Fraud Film Festival
ASB Waterfront Theatre
Saturday March 3
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (followed by discussion panel)
Saturday March 3, 1:00pm
Click here for tickets
Betting on Zero (followed by discussion panel)
Saturday March 3, 3:15pm
Click here for tickets
The Armstrong Lie (followed by Stephen Swart Q&A)
Saturday March 3, 6:00pm
Click here for tickets
