Cornell University

When we look up, who is looking back? Yaara Bou Melhem’s documentary Unseen Skies explores the evolution of state and corporate surveillance. The docu-journey follows Trevor Paglen, one of the 21st century’s most visionary artists, on one of his most audacious projects to date – the launching of an artwork into space to show that our skies are more than the exclusive playground of the military-industrial complex. Or are they?

Trevor Paglen is an artist whose work spans image-making, sculpture, investigative journalism, writing, engineering, and numerous other disciplines. A 2017 MacArthur Fellow, Paglen has shown both solo and collaborative work at exhibitions at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, and numerous other venues. He holds a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley, an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Geography from U.C. Berkeley and is the author of several books and numerous articles on subjects including experimental geography, artificial intelligence, state secrecy, military symbology, photography, and visuality. 

Yaara Bou Melhem is an intrepid independent journalist and filmmaker. Her films include exclusive reports where she crawls through Syrian rebel-held tunnels, films in remote Aboriginal communities on taboo subjects like youth suicide and reported more uplifting stories about doctors giving free health care in Nepal and conservation efforts in New Zealand. In her career, Yaara has won two UN Media Peace Awards, accolades from the New York Festivals Awards, a Hong Kong Human Rights Press Award and Walkley Awards for her films.

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