Zero Silence, a film by three young Swedish filmmakers, tells the story of a number of young men and women in the Arab world who use the internet and other non-traditional means to fight the ruling regimes in their country.

As such, Zero Silence is not a film about social media but about the revolt of a young generation for whom silence is no longer an option.

The production initially started out as a film about Arab bloggers and the dissemination of information in closed societies through non-traditional means, but grew into a documentary about a contagious revolt of an internet-savvy young generation. Zero Silence was shot between November 2009 and June 2011.

The film covers more than 100 hours of interview footage with bloggers, artists, musicians, activists and ordinary youths from the streets of Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon. A number of some of the world’s most prominent digital and free speech experts are also interviewed in the film.

Main characters:

Lilia Weslaty – A 28-year-old Tunisian journalist and blogger working against the censorship in Tunisia. In an interview with her in 2010 it’s clear that the
young Tunisians scream for a change.

Wael Abbas – A well-known 34-year-old Egyptian blogger who has exposed several cases of police brutality and torture in Egypt on his blog, where he posts videos filmed in police stations in Cairo showing police officers beating and torturing people.

Rebecca Saade – A 25-year-old Lebanese woman working in Beirut and fighting for more women’s and minority rights on the streets and on her blog.

Hossam El-Hamalawy – A 33- year-old Egyptian photographer, journalist and blogger. One of the key personalities in the Egyptian blogosphere.

Zero silence directors and producers: Jonny von Wallström, Javeria Rizvi Kabani and Alexandra Sandels.

The film debut screening took place in Stockholm, on Wednesday 31 August