DOC - Proxy: The Cold War We Weren't Taught in School

Documentary Series

Title: Proxy: The Cold War We Weren't Taught in School

TRT: 09:00:00

Project Status: In Development

Logline 

America has backed regime change operations all over the world—here’s nine of them. Proxy reframes the Cold War, narrated by filmmakers from the Global South.

Synopsis

Proxy is a nine-part docuseries that reframes the Cold War, chronicling America’s covert regime change operations in nine countries: Iran, Guatemala, Congo (DRC), Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, Angola, Nicaragua, and Afghanistan. Nine hour-long episodes each profile one Cold War battleground country. Each episode is directed, written, and narrated, in English, by filmmakers from each country. Directors appear onscreen, in dialogue with experts. Episodes progress chronologically, detailing the context of the Cold War as it unfolds.

The series arc, tracking American foreign policy in the “Third World,” unfolds in three acts. In The Dulles Era (1953-1961), CIA Director Allen Dulles oversaw coups in Iran (Episode1), Guatemala (Episode2), and Congo (Episode3) motivated by natural resources—oil, agricultural land, and minerals, respectively. Communism wasn’t very influential in these countries’ governments, yet the CIA considered their leaders a “communist threat.” In The Jakarta Method (1961-1975), America supported military officers in Indonesia (Episode4), Brazil (Episode5), and Chile (Episode6) to wage anticommunist crusades and overthrow left-wing leaders. Anticommunism in Indonesia amounted to genocide. In Freedom Fighters (1975-1991), the Soviet Union escalated support for Marxists taking power in Angola (Episode7), Nicaragua (Episode8), and Afghanistan (Episode9), as America supported rebels— "freedom fighters," as President Reagan calls them—including Mujahideen Islamist militias in Afghanistan. These decade-long wars turned to quagmires that bankrupted the Soviet Union, leading to its collapse. Nearly a million lives were lost and Marxism fell in each country. In Afghanistan, a civil war raged on, leading to the Taliban’s rise and the next era of US-backed regime change.

Additional Project Information

It’s impossible to make sense of world affairs today without understanding the covert history of the Cold War. This is perhaps most evident in the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, which America supported in Iran and Afghanistan to combat secular communism during the Cold War. This history is hidden in plain sight: many books and films cover it, yet it’s been largely lost in a sea of information.
Throughout the Global South, millions of lives were lost or tarnished through America’s covert actions. Yet the mainstream historical narrative largely excludes their stories, which are more important than ever, as Donald Trump embarks on a new era of regime change. Proxy sets the record straight with a creative approach aimed at a mass audience.
Instead of relying on stiff talking-head interviews, Proxy features candid conversations with experts, captured by handheld cameras in motion. Directors don’t just interview, but speak onscreen with experts in the field, at historic locations, engaging in dialogue and reacting emotionally. These conversations are interwoven with segments of archival footage, narrated first-person by directors in a personal and poetic style that oscillates between journalistic, diaristic, and experimental tone.
As co-director and EP, my cinematic style fuses the pizzazz of advertising, the candor of verite, the rigor of journalism, and the suspense of true-crime. For our pilot episode, we will fuse my style with the personal, poetic, and experimental approach of director Maliyamungu Gift Muhande, who will narrate archival segments between conversations with experts.

(Film Independent + CNN Docuseries Fellowship, 2022)

Team

Pilot Episode Director: Maliyamungu Gift Muhande ; Director of Photography: Nelson Walker

Financials

Seeking $500K in funds for pilot episode

Seeking

Development Funds, Investors, Producing Partners, Production Company

Rights Available

All rights available.

Contact

Melinda Pinecone (Executive Producer/Creator)

melinda.pinecone@gmail.com