We're still collecting donations
On the 4th July 2022 we'd raised £75,585 with 1878 supporters in 80 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Want to fight against lying in politics in the UK, USA, China, and beyond? Fund this film to expose the problem like never before.
by Radiator Productions Ltd. in London, Greater London, United Kingdom
On the 4th July 2022 we'd raised £75,585 with 1878 supporters in 80 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
The Power Of Lies: The Story Of Lying In Politics And The Fight To Make It Illegal
Part 1: Forensically expose Boris Johnson's lying problem like never before. Tell the story of lying in politics throughout history and the damage it has caused in the UK (Tony Blair, Nick Clegg), USA (Robert McNamara, Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton), China, Kenya, France, EU, and Ancient Greece.
Part 2: The prosecution of Boris Johnson as an attempt to establish lying in politics as a criminal offence. Including the publication of the evidence for the first time. On top of this, we hear from politicians from different parties, and campaigners, working for new laws and regulations against lying in politics.
Part 3: The inside story of the sabotage of the Johnson prosecution and the damage caused by lying in politics since then: Trump Capitol riot, Covid cover ups and false claims in the UK and China. Includes an exclusive story about one of Boris Johnson's lies that has not been made public before and is worse than Partygate (required two years of investigation).
Marcus J Ball (director, writer, producer) is the crowdfunded private prosecutor who prosecuted Boris Johnson for alleged misconduct in public office in 2019. The purpose of his case was to prove that lying in politics is a criminal offence that abuses public trust in democracy. Westminster Magistrates' Court ruled in his favour that Boris Johnson must face a full criminal jury trial at the Crown Court, but the case was shut down before it could get in front of a jury. Marcus has almost 6 years worth of exclusive information, evidence, and research that he has compiled whilst working on his mission to make lying in politics illegal. This film, The Power Of Lies, will present much of this information for the first time in public as he tells the timely story of lying in politics, throughout history, and the fight to make it illegal.
Tom Goodman-Hill (producer) is a film, television, and stage actor best known for The War Below (Netflix), Humans (Channel 4), Rebecca (Netlfix),The Imitation Game, Everest, Spamalot, and many more. He has been a backer of Stop Lying In Politics since 2016 and has joined Radiator Productions as a producer on The Power Of Lies. Tom's experience on set, knowledge of story mechanics, his creative ideas, passion against lying in politics, and expansive network have been vital to the success of our production so far.
Kate Adie CBE (interviewee) is something of an icon in the United Kingdom. Her impressive career as a major BBC Foreign Affairs and War Journalist took her all over the globe. She has been interviewed for The Power Of Lies on the topic of the cover up of the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989 and the damage caused by lying in politics.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith MBE (producer) Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (producer) is a Laurence Olivier Award winning actor who performs on stage, on television, and in film. He played Ike Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Laertes opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre. He also appeared in Mary Poppins Returns, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Doctor Strange, and Paddington 2. He was one of the co-founders of The Act For Change Project, is a trustee of the Young Vic Theatre, a patron of Inc Arts, and has produced events at the Miro Gallery, Olivier, Dorfman, Old Vic and Royal Court Theatres. Kobna joins The Power Of Lies as an Associate Producer.
Chris Bryant MP (interviewee) is the Labour Member of Parliament for the Rhondda in South Wales. He is also the Chairman of the Standards Committee. He has been interviewed on the topic of lying in politics, making lying in politics illegal, and the standards of conduct in the House of Commons
David Arnold (composer) is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning film and television music composer whose credits include five James Bond films, Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, Little Britain, Good Omens, and Sherlock. David is also a backer of our work against lying in politics and has come onto the team to compose the music for our film.
Jennifer Nadel (interviewee) is the ex-Home Affairs Editor of ITN, an award winning journalist, qualified criminal barrister, author, and co-founder of campaigning organisation Compassion In Politics. She’s reported for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN from around the world. Jennifer has been interviewed on the topic of making lying in politics illegal and her campaign for a new act of statute against the problem.
Oona Menges (Director of Photography) has worked on productions for Apple TV and Amazon Prime. She has worked on The Nevers, Dirty Pretty Things, The Host, Black Beauty and many more television and film productions. Oona has been a backer of our work against lying in politics for years and when she heard about our plan to produce a documentary film, she contacted us and joined the crew. Her expert understanding of how to compose, light, and shoot a scene has been vital to the success of our production so far.
Our studio (Radiator Productions): A great deal of effort has gone into designing, constructing, painting, sound proofing, lighting, and setting up our film studio for the production but the effort has been worth it. We have our own, brilliantly soundproofed, dedicated space for interviews whenever we want to do them. This makes production a lot smoother and simpler than it would otherwise have been.
Roberta Volpe (set designer & scenic artist) has worked on productions for sets like Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King, . She is an award winning Set Designer. Born in Milan she trained in Set Design at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera and in Set & Costume Design at the Opera Academy of Verona. She has been a backer of Stop Lying In Politics since 2016 and has joined the crew at Radiator Productions as our set designer and scenic artist.
Alex Tait (interviewee) is an advertising executive who co-founded Reform Political Advertising. An organisation which campaigns for political advertising to be regulated in line with commercial advertising as overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Currently political advertising is not regulated by the ASA, Alex wants to see that change so that false claims made in electoral ads becomes a thing of the past.
He has extensive experience gained from working in the advertising industry including as Unilever's Media Director where he was responsible for advertising across their portfolio of brands.
Simon Haggis (Sound Recordist) is a Sound Recordist Production Sound Mixer who has worked on television and film productions as well as for clients like Burberry, Adobe, Tiffany & Co, and British Airways. Simon has joined the team to take care of our audio recording needs, making sure that our interviewees sound crisp, and clear.
Julia Belle (interviewee) is a TV and Radio presenter-regularly for the BBC- and host of Bare Naked Politics: a podcast that explains complex political news in a way that’s easy to understand. Julia has been interviewed on the topic of lying in politics, damage to public trust in the democratic process, and what can be done about it.
Andrew Evans (editor) has been an editor for around 20 years. He spent several years working for ITN, then for ITV and the BBC. Programmes & series he has edited have won two RTS awards, two Foreign Press Awards & BANFF as well as been nominated for 2 Prix Europas, a Canadian Screen award & a BAFTA. In the last few years he has mainly been working for National Geographic and Discovery helping to make some of the most watched documentaries on the planet. Andrew has also worked on How To Look Good Naked, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Asia’s Next Top Model, and many more. He has been a backer of Stop Lying In Politics for years and has now joined the team at Radiator Productions as our editor on The Power Of Lies. We are very lucky to have him!
Lewis Power QC (interviewee) was the barrister who led the legal team at Westminster Magistrates’ Court against Boris Johnson’s lawyers. Our argument, as made by Lewis, defeated Johnson’s lawyers and won the right to a fair trial at the Crown Court only to have the case shut down by the High Court immediately after. Lewis, and several of his colleagues on the legal team, have been interviewed for The Power Of Lies.
What is the plan?
1. Complete this documentary film to ensure that making lying in politics illegal is a topic at the top of the international agenda (international streaming services are our target, not domestic television channels).
2. Sell the film, use some of the funds to get Marcus and Stop Lying In Politics Ltd. out of debt.
3. Using some of the rest of the funds continue the fight against lying in politics by returning to court and again attempting to set a precedent against lying in politics.
Why should you back this crowdfund?
1. Boris Johnson has lied to the country about something much worse than Partygate. After 2 years of investigation this film will finally expose him for it. It's a long form story, documentary film is the best way to tell it.
2. Lying in politics is one of the biggest, most misunderstood problems in the world. We need to boost public understanding of it by examining the problem in detail, internationally, and throughout history. The film will call for lying in politics to be made illegal, globally.
3. The film will reveal what was done to sabotage the prosecution of Boris Johnson in 2019. Finally enabling a return to court for another prosecution to set a precedent against lying in politics.
4. Two of the best documentary film distributors in the world have asked to see our rough cut when it's ready and so has a major global online streaming platform. We have household name interviewees, leading legal and political communications experts, an Emmy and Grammy award winning composer(pro bono), and an award winning, highly experienced crew (most charging reduced rates or pro bono).
Our current financial situation:
At the time of writing we have run out of funds completely and Marcus is running the project on his personal account overdraft at his own expense. He works full time on this film and has no other source of income.
What we have achieved so far:
What's left to complete?
Why we need more funding:
Producing a film at this quality level is expensive. We need it to be broadcasted on one of the biggest networks and they demand a high level of quality.
The original design for our film studio as produced by Roberta Volpe.
This project offered rewards