🎞️ «Killing Anna»

DIRECTED BY: Sam Benstead
YEAR: 2026
LENGTH: 76’

A Syrian academic in Amsterdam receives shocking footage of the 2013 Tadamon massacre, in which civilians were executed by Syrian intelligence forces during the war. She traces the perpetrator and poses as "Anna" to friend him on Facebook, luring him into a series of revealing calls drawing him into a series of revealing calls as she attempts to make him confess to his crimes. Built from covert digital surveillance and undercover recordings, Killing Anna is a deeply captivating psychological thriller about one person's determination to expose the truth, no matter the personal cost. Directed by Sam Benstead, this gripping documentary is presented here as an Italian premiere. Killing Anna will be introduced by a panel in English with consecutive interpreting into Italian.

Panel description:

What are open source investigations (OSINV), and how are they changing investigative journalism? This is discussed by investigation correspondent Manisha Ganguly and the cartographer from the editorial staff of Le Monde Riccardo Pravettoni, starting from the same methods that are at the heart of the film and the work of the renowned investigative editorial team Bellingcat, which co-produced the documentary. Through the analysis of satellite imagery, footage published on social media, and advanced verification techniques, OSINVs are a crucial tool for reconstructing events and holding parties accountable: a type of reporting capable of bringing to light war crimes, human rights violations, and truths that would otherwise be covered up. In Syria, OSINVs have provided some of the most important evidence: from the use of chemical weapons to crimes documented in prisons, up to the Tadamon massacre itself, reconstructed image by image years later and now recounted right in Killing Anna. Moderation by Philip Di Salvo (researcher and journalist, DIG).