1. Media Space

  2. Press Releases

Catch Freelancer on the Front Lines, Santiago Bertolino’s NFB feature doc on journalist Jesse Rosenfeld, October 12 at the Reelworld Film Festival. Witness to the biggest events in the Middle East, Toronto-born reporter Rosenfeld will be on hand to take questions.

PRESS RELEASE
29/09/2017

 

September 29, 2017 – Toronto –
National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Santiago Bertolino’s National Film Board of Canada feature documentary on Canadian freelance journalist Jesse Rosenfeld, Freelancer on the Front Lines, screens Thursday, October 12, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. at the Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas as part of Toronto’s Reelworld Film Festival, with the wide-roving Canadian journalist in attendance for a Q&A.

Born and raised in Toronto, Jesse Rosenfeld has spent the last nine years reporting from the front lines on the biggest events shaping the Middle East. Bearing witness to war, occupation, revolution and counter revolution, Rosenfeld has gone to the heart of the stories that have transformed the region, telling his readers about the experiences of the people living through these unprecedented upheavals. He has reported from 15 countries throughout the Middle East, Europe and North America, for media outlets that include The Daily Beast, The Nation Magazine, Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, The National (Abu Dhabi), The Toronto Star, Le Monde diplomatique and NOW Magazine, among others.

Freelancer on the Front Lines follows his journey across the region, showing us thorny geopolitical realities shaped by the events transforming the Middle East and exploring how journalism practices have changed in the age of the Internet. Whether covering the dashed hopes of the Egyptian revolution, the upheavals in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from Ramallah or Gaza, the reality of refugee camps in Turkey, or the faultiness of Iraq’s bloody divisions, the film explores Rosenfeld’s mission to share the issues on the ground with his readers. But to cope with the new communications jungle, choose the subjects he wants and make the front page, he must set himself apart from traditional mass media. With the thrilling pace of an action film, Freelancer on the Front Lines captures the ups and downs

of a new and unconventional kind of journalism.

Written and directed by Santiago Bertolino, with the participation of Jesse Rosenfeld, Freelancer on the Front Lines was produced by Nathalie Cloutier and Denis McCready, and executive produced by Colette Loumède, for the NFB French Program’s Documentary Studio.

–30–

Promotional Material
Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailer, credits, synopsis: Freelancer on the Front Lines

Associated Links
Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas
Reelworld Film Festival

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.