Illicit: The Dark Trade

Eyes of the Devil

February 2021 •Polish

Exploring the underground world of trafficking, where children are used for prostitution and organ harvesting. Patryk Vega interviews a mother who intends on selling her unborn child to traffickers.

W. - What Remains of the Lie

September 2020 •German

A documentary about a biography that covers an entire century: the delusion of Bruno Wilkomirski, who wrote a celebrated book about his childhood as a concentration camp victim and was later revealed. How this deception came about, how the person concerned reflects on it from the distance of almost 20 years and what it says about our country and our time.

Arnaques à l'italienne

June 2022 •French

Queen of Crypto

September 2023 •English

She promised a new future with her revolutionary new crypto currency. But her $4 billion empire was all a fraud, milking investors, and sending her on the run as a global fugitive.

Class Action Park

August 2020 •English

Class Action Park explores the legend, legacy, and truth behind the 1980s water park in Vernon, New Jersey that long ago entered the realm of myth. Known for its dangerous, unsupervised rides and lack of regulation, guests of Action Park expected to walk away with injuries and were lucky if they made it out alive. Shirking the trappings of nostalgia, the film uses investigative journalism, original animations, recordings, and interviews with the people who lived it to reveal the true story of Action Park.

An Honest Liar

April 2014 •English

An Honest Liar tells the incredible story of the world-famous magician, escape artist, and world-renowned enemy of deception, James 'The Amazing' Randi. The film brings to life Randi's intricate investigations that publicly exposed psychics, faith healers, and con-artists with quasi-religious fervor. A master deceiver who came out of the closet at the age of 81, Randi created fictional characters, fake psychics, and even turned his partner of 25 years, Jose Alvarez, into a sham guru names Carlos.

Inside Job

October 2010 •English

A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

Fraude alimentaire, un crime organisé ?

December 2021 •French

All food can be adulterated. More discreet than a drug cartel, more elusive than arms dealers, criminals have taken over food. Olive oil, fish, meat, spices, no department escapes their juicy traffic. A jackpot estimated in Europe at 30 billion euros enriches a new kind of mafia every year. Organized crime is selling altered products in restaurants, supermarkets and all food shops in the European Union. Their secret is to replace an ingredient with a cheaper one. Who are these new traffickers? What are their methods of operation?

Chasing Madoff

November 2010 •English

A look at how one investigator spent ten years trying to expose Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme that scammed an estimated $18 billion from investors.

Camera Sleuth

April 1951 •English

In this Pete Smith Specialty short, we see how real-life investigator Jo Goggin used a motion picture surveillance camera to gather evidence and disprove a fraudulent insurance claim.

Young Yakuza

November 2007 •French

Meet the Japanese Mafia's latest son: a 20 year old named Naoki, part of a surging, decade-long wave of juvenile delinquency in Japan. As Naoki rejects school, jobs and family, his desperate mother decides to take one last chance to save him--by handing him over to the Mafia for one year and letting him choose his own path.

Talhotblond

February 2009 •English

This is the true story of a love triangle that takes place entirely online. Lies lead to murder in real life, as a teenage vixen (screen name 'talhotblond') lures men into her web. Revealing a shocking true crime story that shows the Internet's power to unleash our most dangerous fantasies.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

March 2010 •English

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

Shooting the Mafia

November 2019 •English

Sicilian photojournalist Letizia Battaglia began a long battle against the ruthless Cosa Nostra when she first photographed the sinister scene of a brutal murder. Documenting the barbaric rule of the Italian Mafia, she was an unwavering witness to its crimes. Her art and courage helped end the horrific and bloody reign of the Corleonesi clan.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley

January 2019 •English

With a magical new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her 10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.

LA DA Story

January 2018 •English

Los Angeles District Attorney’s office professes to protect the residents of Los Angeles County by prosecuting violent and dangerous criminals and seeking justice for all. But there is a dark side to the LA DA’s operations, when it is utilized by powers-that-be to persecute whistleblowers, violate the civil rights of U.S. citizens and stop investigations of criminal elements.

Workers Con

November 2017 •English

Workers Compensation, is the Worker's Con, a process flawed, buried in bureaucracy, adding insult to injury.

The Truth vs. Alex Jones

March 2024 •English

Filmed over four years with unprecedented access, this documentary chronicles the riveting courtroom drama of two defamation lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims' families against Alex Jones and his website, InfoWars.

Nothing Lasts Forever

March 2022 •English

Hidden from public view, a war is raging inside the diamond industry. When filmmaker Jason Kohn infiltrates this highly secretive world, he uncovers a vast, far reaching crime that threatens the value of every diamond ever mined. At stake is nothing less than the universal symbol of love and commitment - the engagement ring.

Laboratory Greece

December 2019 •English

A journey through Greece and Europe’s past and recent history: from the Second World War to the current crisis. It is a historical documentary, a look into many stories. «If Democracy can be destroyed in Greece, it can be destroyed throughout Europe» Paul Craig Roberts