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“Brügger's façade exposes a grotesque and frightening view of a deeply corrupt country.” - Screen Daily
Danish journalist and documentary filmmaker Mads Brügger lays out his cards right at the start of this film - to purchase an ambassadorship for the Central Republic of Africa and impersonate a decadent white businessman operating in a corrupt Africa. So begins this fascinating, provocative documentary.
The fictitious Mads Johan Brügger Cortzen claims to be a do-good rich mercantilist, working with locals to establish a factory, but his real mission is to gain access to vast reserves of diamonds. Filming with a hidden camera, Brügger uncovers a bizarre world of corrupt businessmen and diplomats.
Director of the award-winning The Red Chapel (MIFF 10), Brügger takes his style of immersive documentary journalism one step further here. Highly unconventional, involving great personal risk and, at times, politically incorrect, The Ambassador raises a host of questions not only about the Western exploitation of Africa's natural resources but also the ethics of documentary filmmaking.
Mads Brügger is a guest of the festival.
D Mads Brügger P Peter Engel, Carsten Holst S Maja Jul Larsen, Mads Brügger WS TrustNordisk L Danish, English, French, Sango w/English subtitles TD HD Cam/2011