Speechless

SPEECHLESS is a feature documentary that investigates the cultural and ideological battles
reshaping higher education in the Western world. Told through a series of interwoven case
studies, the film follows Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ric Esther Bienstock as she examines
how the campus—once a sanctuary for open inquiry—has become a flashpoint in a broader war
over speech, power, and identity. A lifelong progressive, Ric sets out not to take sides but to
understand what happens when disagreement itself becomes dangerous, and when institutions
built to protect expression begin to suppress it.

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Ric Esther Bienstock is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker renowned for her hard-hitting investigative documentaries. Her acclaimed films—including Enslaved, The Accountant of Auschwitz, Tales From the Organ Trade, Sex Slaves, and Ebola: Inside an Outbreak—have aired on major networks such as Netflix, HBO, CNN, PBS, BBC, and National Geographic. In September 2024, Bienstock was honoured with a Silver Circle Emmy Award in New York for 25 years of “significant and impactful contributions to the industry”. Bienstock has received dozens of prestigious awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the DuPont-Columbia Award, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and a British Broadcast Award. She has also earned multiple Canadian Screen Awards, a BAFTA nomination, and two Amnesty International Awards. In recognition of her global impact, Bienstock was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for her commitment to raising awareness of international issues through film. Her work has helped define investigative documentary storytelling and continues to shape the international profile of Canadian journalism

Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney has been called “the most important documentarian of our time” (Esquire). Known for his gripping, cinematic style, his work has earned an Academy Award, multiple Emmys, a Grammy, Peabody Awards, and more. Gibney’s notable films include Totally Under Control, Crazy, Not Insane, and Agents of Chaos (all 2020), as well as The Crime of the Century (2021), which examined the origins and impact of the opioid crisis. His Emmy-winning The Forever Prisoner explored the CIA’s use of torture in the war on terror. In 2022, he released Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker (Apple TV+), and in 2023, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Gibney is widely recognized for documentaries that investigate power, secrecy, and accountability with unparalleled depth and insight.

Garfield Lindsay Miller is a Toronto-based producer and writer specializing in documentary and narrative storytelling. His work spans feature documentaries, docuseries, and scripted drama. He is the writer of The Messengers, a feature documentary about conservative environmentalists executive produced by Alex Gibney, and was producer and co-writer of Percy vs Goliath, a dramatic feature starring Christopher Walken. Garfield has contributed to series for Netflix (This Is Pop), Discovery+ (Fight or Flight), Vice TV (The Devil You Know, Cyberwar, Dark Side of the 90s), and MTV/Paramount+ (Sampled). Known for his skill in shaping complex stories with clarity and impact, Garfield brings a deep commitment to projects that explore cultural tension, power, and resistance.