2024
3×30 min
Vice wasn’t just a media company – it was a revolution. Emerging in Montreal and Brooklyn, it took over Europe from London and Berlin and turned from a free magazine to a global media powerhouse. Vice pulled back the curtain on taboo topics with unapologetic zeal and captured the unfiltered essence of youth culture with stories on sex, drugs, and the edgy, just before smartphones and social media took over – Gonzo style. Vice’s daring reporting took audiences behind the lines in North Korea and into the heart of the “Islamic State,” pushing the boundaries of journalism beyond mere objectivity. Vice walked the line between editorial and branded content, between embedded journalism and subjective reporting. Its promise to brands enticed millions of advertising revenues. HBO, MTV, Disney and the Murdochs queued up for investements. But by 2024, the empire’s lights dimmed, as media shifts and internal struggles led to its worldwide bankruptcy.
The documentary series assembles former Vice staff from the US, UK, and Germany, like notorious co-founder Gavin McInnes, Canadian singer Peaches, journalists Robert King and Simon Ostrovsky, Thilo Mischke, Martina Kix, and Manuel Möglich, and sales departments insiders such as Eric Conyers, Benny Eichelmann and Ben Dietz. Footage from their private archives as well as professional pics from VICE photographer Christoph Voy replicate the unique millennial style – as does the soundtrack.
Written by
Peta Jenkin
Nadine Neumann
Directed by
Peta Jenkin
Christopher Kaufmann
Directors of photography
Arsenij Gusev
Tom Bergmann
Michelle Leung
Ayşe Alacakaptan
Danny MacGregor
Sound
Waldemar Bruch
Mark Romaine
Eliza Kamerling-Brown
Artem Funk
James Allen
Anna Brinks
Light
Mario Klapper
Luis Münster
Tim Friebe
Moritz Kerstan
Set decorator
René Riqui
Zarah Bäumler
Karsten Junghans
Editors
Leon Schwarz
Elisabeth Hirsch
Mark Broszeit
Grading
Andreas Teichert
Sound Mix
Pierre Brand
Sascha Prangen
Archive Producer
Florian Tropp
Research
Claire Wilisch
Julia Nölker
Production management ARD
Sibylle Essig
Production management Beetz Brothers
Marcel Rechten
Christina Münster
Ferdinand Freising
Franziska Blohm
Producer
Nadine Neumann
Executive Producer
Reinhardt Beetz
Commissioning Editors
Kai Winn (ARD Kultur)
Kristian Costa-Zahn (ARD Kultur)
Beate Karch (SWR)
Susanne Schmaltz (SWR)
Joanna Gawronska (SWR)
Christine Gerberding (NDR)
David Gern (HR)
Mariska Lief (HR)
Christine Thalmann (RBB)
Marie Röder (RBB)
Der mit dem Special Jury Award der IDFA ausgezeichnete Film von Khalo Matabane läuft am 13. Januar um 22:00 Uhr in der BBC! Provokativ, überraschend, anregend.
Am 30. Januar 2014 erscheint das Buch zum Film bei Haffmans & Tolkemitt.
