Documentary #ThisIsACoup gets inside the fierce battle between Syriza and the EU
- Text by Alex King
“Guys we won. Don’t cry,” Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras joked as his party won Greece’s January 2015 elections. “When we lost, you were laughing. Now we’ve won, you’re crying.”
Syriza’s resounding victory was the first time in modern history a radical left party had taken power in Europe. The party was elected on a promise to end the crippling austerity inflicted on Greece by the EU, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, collectively known as the Troika.
Syriza knew they were in for a fight – but at the time, they had no idea the Troika would make their victory a poisoned chalice.
Four-part documentary series #ThisIsACoup takes us inside the vicious battle between Syriza and the Troika. With unprecedented access to Syriza, the film argues that their win exposed the limits of democracy and Europe’s elite destroyed Greece’s economy to defend their unquestionable authority.
Director Theopi Skarlatos and producer Paul Mason met in the middle of a riot, and followed Syriza’s rocky journey until the June bailout referendum, when 62% of Greeks rejected the EU’s austerity measures.
The film is supported by The Intercept’s Field of Vision, a filmmaker-driven visual journalism film unit co-created by Oscar-winning director of Citizenfour Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook.
Watch Episode 1: ‘Angela, Suck Our Balls’ above and head over to The Intercept to catch new episodes dropping daily until December 18.
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