Johan Grimonprez's Documentary 'blue orchids' Explores Trauma and the Arms Trade

Johan Grimonprez's short arthouse documentary 'blue orchids' (2017) features interviews with Chris Hedges, a former war correspondent and leftwing activist, and Riccardo Privitera, an arms dealer for Talisman Europe Ltd. Hedges discusses the emotional toll of war trauma, including sleeplessness and alienation, while Privitera offers cynical insights into the arms trade with provocative statements. The film juxtaposes their perspectives to move beyond factual revelations toward intimate portrayals of damaged individuals. Archival footage includes CCTV clips from Dubai security authorities showing a Mossad hit squad assassinating Hamas military leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, highlighting the stakes of global arms deals. Other imagery, such as a photograph of three men at Holland House library in London after a 1940 German bombing, adds montage poetics. The documentary premiered at Sean Kelly in New York from 27 January to 11 March 2017, deriving content from Grimonprez's feature-length film 'Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade' (2016). The title references an escort service used by Privitera, framing the work as a pornography of grief and denial, yet also a labor of love. Through its editing, the film contrasts human vulnerability with the impersonal surveillance of security states, emphasizing themes of connection and moral ambiguity in geopolitical conflicts.