Index of video works and documentary film:

A LETTER TO JENNA (episodes, work-in-progress)

Various major political events in recent years have been profoundly influenced by the targeted spread of false information and massive interferences from social networks. This has had devastating effects on the decision-making processes in democratic states and is continuing to threaten to destabilise their societies.

Most recently, an offensive war of aggression has been launched by Vladimir Putin, built on a range of blatant lies, the targeted dissemination of propagandist narratives, false accusations, and deliberate deception within a sphere of diplomatic norms.

›A Letter to Jenna‹ is an ongoing multidisciplinary documentary project exploring the topic of disinformation and focussing on existing counter-movements in consecutive episodes.

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #01A – Irina

HD, 8:22min

Irina speaks about living in a war zone, Russian propaganda, and her view on the so called Donetsk People's Republic.

Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #01B – Irina

HD, 2:23min

Irina roams the area around her home, near the former frontline, twelve days before the devastating invasion of Russian troops.

Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #01C – Diana

HD, 5:35min

Diana speaks about her dilemmas with cultural diplomacy in view of an imminent Russian invasion as well as her experiences in a previous info-war and the methods of Russian propaganda in connection with the self-proclaimed People's Republics in the Donbas. The interview was conducted ten days prior to Vladimir Putin’s formal recognition of the so called separatist People's Republics on February 21, 2022 and the following military aggression against Ukraine. Diana was able to flee besieged Mariupol in early March 2022 in a life-threatening escape through two lines of Russian militaries.

Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #01D – Diana

HD, 5:42min

Diana about her state of mind in view of an imminent Russian invasion…

Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #02A – StopFake – Ruslan Deynychenko

HD, 12:26min

StopFake is a Kyiv-based non governmental fact-checking organization, founded in March 2014 by Ukrainian educators and media professionals, to refute Russian propaganda and combat fake news.

Ruslan Deynychenko is co-founder of StopFake.org and executive director of Mohyla School of Journalism at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The video features an interview about Russian disinformation and excerpts from ›StopFake News‹, a weekly television show only about fake news. It was produced in December 2021 and February 2022 amid the looming threat of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec 2021 and Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #02B – Territorial Defense Units, Ukraine

HD, 7:48min

In early 2022, and amid the looming threat of Russia’s large-scale invasion, Ukraine’s Armed Forces called on all willing volunteers to join and help to defend their homes.

According to the National Resistance Act, Territorial Defense Units should ensure security and order behind the frontline, assist the Armed Forces in combat operations, guard key infrastructure facilities, and render assistance in combating hostile subversive activities in their local areas.

According to Ukrainian Armed Forces, Territorial Defense Units are considered to be full-fledged military organizations rather than a paramilitary.

Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #02C – StopFake – Viktoriya Romaniuk

HD, 7:01min

StopFake is a Kyiv-based non governmental fact-checking organization, founded in March 2014 by Ukrainian educators and media professionals, to refute Russian propaganda and combat fake news.

Viktoriya Romaniuk is Deputy Chief Editor of StopFake.organd Deputy Head of Mohyla School of Journalism at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

The video features an interview about Russian disinformation and excerpts from ›StopFake News‹, a weekly television show only about fake news. It was produced in February 2022 amid the looming threat of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #02D – StopFake – Olga Yurkova

HD, 5:11min

StopFake is a Kyiv-based non governmental fact-checking organization, founded in March 2014 by Ukrainian educators and media professionals, to refute Russian propaganda and combat fake news.

Olga Yurkova is a journalist and co-founder of StopFake.org.
She has co-authored the Ukraine chapter of the EAST Center think tank’s 2021 Disinformation Resilience Index study and was named a TED Fellow in 2018. Her TED Talk was watched more than 1 million times.

The video was produced in December 2021 amid the looming threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec 2021

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #04A – Tiffany Rumbalski

HD, 10:47min

Tiffany Rumbalski is a media monitoring coordinator at CommonCause.org.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. It has led a social media monitoring effort during federal and state elections and has developed tools to enable monitoring and tracking of mis- and disinformation content, as well as rapid response techniques.

In the interview Tiffany speaks about election disinformation from various actors, the mechanisms behind and the methods to counter it.

Columbus, Ohio, USA, Oct 2022

A Letter to Jenna – Episode #04B – Tiffany Rumbalski

HD, 4:36min

Tiffany Rumbalski is a media monitoring coordinator at CommonCause.org.
The video follows her in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio, USA, Oct 2022

THE TIRANA-PROJECT

Making-of / workshop documentary

HD, 38min

The Tirana-Project: Seven participants in a mixed group from Albania and Germany developing their projects in a visual storytelling workshop & photographic mind-focussing retreat in Tirana.

In cooperation with Goethe-Institut, Tirana

Tirana, Albania, Sep 2021

BLUE DONKEY & RED ELEPHANT

Blue Donkey & Red Elephant – documentary film [trailer]

Direction, filming & editing: Jens Schwarz / D, USA, UK 2021 / color, b&w / HD 42 min

On 6 January 2021, an angry mob of supporters of the 45th president of the United States, who had already been voted out of office, stormed the parliament building on Capitol Hill. What will go down in history as the “Capitol Riots” was only the most media-effective culmination of a longer process of polarisation, which was driven forward with particular ardour during Donald Trump's term in office.

The feature length documentary film “Blue Donkey & Red Elephant” explores the dichotomous political identities within American society and investigates the promoted and propagandised narratives of its division.
Based on and formally structured by statements from interviews with protagonists from both camps, the film openly looks at different ways of life, social settings, perceptions and behaviours within the political spectrum.

Using the foreground of the political campaigning ahead of the 2020 Presidential Election and the electoral fracas during the 2020 Primaries, the film investigates the sociological background and establishes a deep and subtle audiovisual narrative about what arguably has been strategically constructed, maintained and exploited as a so called social division.

Produced in the context of my postgradual research project at MAPJD - University of the Arts, London

The feature length documentary film is accessible here.

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