As the British referendum date draws closer, a possible and increasingly plausible Brexit scenario has been dominating the news. The arguments for and against Britain’s exit from the EU in 2016, and the risks and opportunities presented by each case, have been circulating in debates, TV reports and interviews and in the social media, and as the polls so far suggest that the outcome is too close to call, we will most probably have to wait until June 23 to find out which side managed to convince the British public.
In an effort to effectively counter the ominous danger assessments, the potential “Brexit 2016” risks projections and the dire warnings that mainly constitute the strategy of the “Remain” campaign, a comprehensive overview of the arguments and the rebuttals of the “Leave” camp has just been released in the form of a new, feature-length documentary. The film is the brainchild of libertarian filmmaker Martin Durkin and his production company WagTV and it is part crowdfunded, as his team raised over $164,399 on Kickstarter from more than 1,600 backers to fund the project.
“Brexit: The Movie” aims to demonstrate the reasons why Britain should vote to leave the EU in a clear, engaging and accessible way. The case is made by using real-life case studies and examples of British industry being stifled by the country’s EU membership, and by posing fundamental questions about the true nature of the European Union and its often impenetrable institutions. One the main points developed in the film is “Is it safe to live under a government that we cannot hold to account?”, outlining the historical progress of the EU concept, the exponential increase of the complexity of the system’s inner workings, as well as the lack of accountability of EU unelected officials and the risks posed by undemocratically imposed rules and regulations that are too often misaligned with the interests of the citizens of each member state.
Durkin confronts the “Remainers” arguments about the Brexit risks and dangers by juxtaposing the successful models of Switzerland, of Germany’s economic miracle right after the war and of course, of Britain itself, in the pre-First-World-War era. Instead of an emotional and romanticised narrative, “Brexit: The Movie” approaches the debate from historical and economic vantage points, outlines the absurdity of EU regulations and competition-stifling institutional protectionism and it makes the case for an independent, confident and truly free-trading Britain.
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