ITHAKA
★★★
OUT 8 JULY / CERT TBC / 115 MINS
DIRECTOR Ben Lawrence
PARTICIPANTS John Shipton, Stella Moris, John Pilger
This near-two-hour documentary fills in the gaps since Julian Assange’s 2019 incarceration at Belmarsh Prison, with the help of the people closest to him. Writer-director Ben Lawrence follows the efforts of the Wikileaks founder’s once-estranged father, John Shipton, and his fiancée and lawyer, Stella Moris, over two years as they travel the world to garner support from politicians, diplomats, journalists and activists to prevent his extradition to the US, and stage a campaign for his freedom. It doesn’t offer a complete portrait of Assange, but provides a grounded, humanising perspective on a controversial figure, press freedom and mental health, with Brian Eno’s score offering a hint of cinematic flair in a decidedly un-Hollywood story.