About

This documentary takes a nonlinear journey through the life, work and enduring legacy of George Orwell, from his anti-colonialist awakening while serving the British Empire in Burma, through his experiences of war and injustice, to his final feverish months writing 1984 as tuberculosis claimed his life. Weaving together diary entries, letters, archival footage, film excerpts and modern news clips, it draws urgent parallels between Orwell's warnings about doublethink, newspeak and Big Brother, and today's rise of authoritarianism, AI-driven disinformation, ethnic cleansing and the erosion of democratic freedoms.

Starring Damian Lewis, George Orwell, U Win Khine

AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards: Winner, 2 awards inc Best Score; Nominee, 5 awards inc Best Documentary Feature
Cannes Film Festival: Nominee, Golden Eye Award
National Board of Review: Winner, Top 5 Documentaries
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards: Winner, Best Documentary
North Texas Film Critics Association: Winner, Best Documentary
St. Louis Film Critics Association: Winner, Best Documentary Film; Nominee, Best Vocal Performance
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle: Winner, Best Documentary
Portland Critics Association Awards: Winner, Best Documentary Feature

REVIEWS
"... a sprawling work that offers itself as a frightening historical record. Indeed, it is perhaps the most soberingly didactic of Peck's works." Sarah-Tai Black, Globe and Mail"... the film's points could hardly seem more prescient than they do in this moment." Bob Mondello, NPR"It's dazzling and terrifying, a guide to a political movement that has been gathering steam for decades and shows no signs of letting up." Sam Adams, Slate"Anchored by Orwell's writing — and Damian Lewis's calm, intimate voice-over — Peck charts the writer's life in tandem with world-shattering events, focusing on when he was working on "Nineteen Eighty-Four," which was published in 1949." Manohla Dargis, New York Times