HBO has released the trailer for its newest documentary, Alex Gibney and Javier Alberto Botero’s Agents of Chaos, an exploration of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election. Gibney, an Academy Award winner, has worked with HBO before. His documentaries are often unafraid of challenging powerful entities, including 2015’s Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief. Javier Alberto Botero previously worked with Gibney on Zero Days (2016) which explored the cyber attack by the U.S. and Israel directed at Iranian nuclear facilities. This time, they’re taking on some of the world’s largest powers.
The two-part documentary will premiere on HBO on September 23rd and September 24th of this year, narrowly in advance of the 2020 presidential election. The fiery trailer promises an explosive look into the Russian interference in American elections. The trailer includes clips that allege that Russians “hacked democracy,” a type of attack that America hadn't had to deal with prior to 2016. It digs into the meddling by way of fake social media accounts, organizations, and local news, as a method of swaying the American public.
The film promises to dig into the Steele dossier, the allegations against Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr.’s involvement and the perceived preference for the Trump campaign. Their intention is to present the information in a way that makes it more penetrable for the viewing audience.
Speaking to Variety, Gibney said “Russia is at the forefront of trying to encourage a discrediting of democracy.” The trailer suggests, like Gibney, that the efforts were successful because they manipulated American issues that already existed.
The film includes interviews with key players in the matter including lead prosecutor for the Mueller Investigation Andrew Weissmann, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, former CIA director John Brennan, Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, Trump business associate Felix Sater, Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, NSC senior director Celeste Wallander, and cyber conflict researcher Camille François.
Closing out the ferocious look at the documentary is a clip of Russian president. Vladimir Putin stating his intention to interfere with the upcoming 2020 American presidential race. Gibney said, “It’s intended as a warning cry. We want people to be alert and aware”
Agents of Chaos is a Jigsaw/Investigative Studios Production and is written by Alex Gibney and Michael J. Palmer.
