Trevor Paglen: Last News

Manori Ravindran International Editor Utopia has acquired Participant Media’s feature documentary “Unseen Skies,” which the U.S. distributor will release on Sept. 13. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Yaara Bou Melhem, “Unseen Skies” explores the evolution of state and corporate surveillance. The film follows American artist and geographer Trevor Paglen as he launches an artwork called “Orbital Reflector” into space, visible with the naked eye from Earth, to highlight the global impact of technology in the modern world. Having achieved international notoriety for his conceptual art, which fuses photography and large-scale multidisciplinary events, Paglen’s work reveals the largely unseen power structures of technology and surveillance that shape, impact and increasingly define the framework of our lives.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Sales and distribution company Utopia, co-founded by filmmaker Robert Schwartzman, has swooped on the distribution rights to documentary “Unseen Skies” by Yaara Bou Melhem, a two-time UN Peace Award-winning filmmaker and investigative journalist.“Unseen Skies” follows conceptual artist Trevor Paglen, known for combining photography and large-scale art, on the final phase of his 10-year endeavor to launch a work of art into space via satellite. Paglen’s art often touches on the issues of mass surveillance and data collection.“Trevor’s work dispels myths about A.I., including that it is neutral and objective,” said Melhem, who also wrote and produced the feature-length doc.