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Unmasking China's Gestapo

For more than 20 years, a shadowy security force in China has terrorized its citizenry with impunity. Some China experts call it “China’s Gestapo.”

It is an extralegal security force established with the sole purpose to persecute and completely eliminate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. At the time of its creation, up to 100 million Chinese were practicing or learning Falun Gong.

Chinese officials have tried to hide its existence, but recent developments have begun to unmask this nefarious agency and in so doing, turn the tide inside China.

  • Mathias Magnason
    Director
  • Jan Lokos
    Writer
  • Levi Browde
    Writer
  • Jan Lokos
    Producer
  • Mathias Magnason
    Producer
  • Levi Browde
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Levi Browde
    Executive Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Human Rights, China
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Archive Footage
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Mathias Magnason

Mathias has loved storytelling his entire life. At the age of 5, he was obsessed with Robert Ludlum’s Bourne series. At age 18, his uncle—an award-winning cinematographer—offered him an internship. On the sets of movies and drama TV, Mathias entered the world of visual storytelling. For five years, Mathias assisted in various roles, from producing to directing, editing, lighting and sound design. He fell in love with the magic, spirit and tenacity of the industry.

Motivated to create films that would impact the world, Mathias went on his own. The United Nations hired Mathias for his directorial debut, where he shot a documentary about a cultural exchange between two schools in Sweden and Malawi, southern Africa. Working with the African children was so rewarding, they inspired Mathias to continue down the road of making humanitarian-focused documentaries.

In his second film—“Article 23”—Mathias produced a 20-minute documentary that told the story of Falun Gong, the persecuted spiritual group in China. At a time when no one else would touch the subject, Mathias was able to get it aired on broadcast TV in Sweden.

In 2010, Mathias moved to the US and founded Magnason Film to continue making impactful documentaries and to produce videos for commercial clients. Since its inception, Magnason Film’s videos and films have earned over 30 film festival awards and garnered millions of views across social media.

Tireless in his desire to improve his filmmaking craft, Mathias has been studying acting at the Michael Chekhov School of Acting since 2018. He initially began his acting study to improve his communication with actors, but Mathias has found a second love, having as much fun in front of the camera as behind it.

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