Blue Orchids

In Blue Orchids Johan Grimonprez creates a double portrait of two experts situated on opposite ends of the same issuethe global arms trade The stories of Chris Hedges a former New York Times war correspondent and Riccardo Privitera arms and equipment dealer for the nowdefunct Talisman Europe Ltd provide an unusual and disturbing context for shocking revelations about the industry of war While interviewing Privitera and Hedges for Grimonprezs recently released feature Shadow World 2016 it became clear that the two men were describing the same anguish and trauma but from paradoxical 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 depths of suffering and duplicity showing that the arms trade is a symptom of a profound illness greed