For the first UNJUSTUS project, we chose to support a film that focuses its lens on the life and struggles of internet pioneer and human rights activist, Aaron Swartz. The stories of Aaron’s battles against oppressive laws and for the free flow of information to all people are well known, as are the digital tools he created. Yet his story also teaches us another powerful story about what happens when a system created to uphold order is out of order. From legal bullying and prosecutor-led “bargaining” that drained his finances and challenged every fiber of his being, to the systematic disregard for Aaron’s personal rights and his overwhelmingly positive contributions to society: Aaron’s story serves as a stark reminder about just how legal fraud is tax fraud and just how far the legal system has drifted away from its true purpose.

For more on the film, watch here and visit the official page. Also, to support the organization Aaron co-founded, visit www.Demandprogress.org and get involved.

As the first honorary UNJUSTUS Artist, Director, Writer, Producer Brian Knappenberger illustrates his commitment to shining a light on important stories of our times. His work on The Internet’s Own Boy, provides an intimate view into the life of Aaron Swartz while exploring problems with a system of justice that is unjust. And as he did on the film about Anonymous, entitled We Are Legion, Brian continued to showcase his ability to tell stories of the emerging underground and its impact on laws, culture and society. His film about the changing politics and tensions in post 9/11 southern Afghanistan in “Life After War” speak volumes for how far he will go to tell a story about unjust human conditions. The abuses of power and freedom of speech issues with the killing of a journalist in Ukraine for “A Murder in Kyiv,” are yet more evidence for his dedication toward giving a voice to those who are oppressed and wrongly punished by legal, political forces. For more on Brian visit Luminant Media.

In SILENCED, Academy Award nominated documentarian James Spione investigates what really happened inside the U.S. security establishment after the events of September 11th, 2001 that caused it to radically change course in profound and lasting ways. The arc of post 9/11 history leading to today - an alternative, inside narrative - is revealed exclusively through three of the most important whistleblowers of the era, speaking for the first time in one film, who discuss in dramatic and unprecedented detail the evolution of the government's increasingly harsh response to unauthorized disclosures. Exploring the unique courage and character it takes to challenge unethical behavior from within the American national security establishment, SILENCED offers a provocative critique of systemic failures of the U.S. government and its draconian over - reactions. The film, through its vivid characters, challenges the national narrative (some would say myth) from which our mainstream discourse seldom deviates: of America the victim, of America protecting liberties at home and abroad. The documentary ultimately asks what the chilling ordeals endured by those who question official policy mean for the future of America.

SILENCED includes exclusive first - person accounts from Jesselyn Radack, the former Justice Department lawyer who challenged the Bush Administration's treatment of American-born Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh; Thomas Drake, the former senior official at the NSA who helped expose the massive waste and illegality of the earliest warrantless surveillance programs aimed at American citizens; and John Kiriakou, the ex-CIA officer who was the first official to publicly acknowledge waterboarding as sanctioned government policy, whom we follow closely as he attempts to defend himself against Espionage Act charges while struggling to keep his family afloat.

Deftly weaving Mr. Kiriakou's unfolding predicament with compelling whistleblower interviews and stylized reenactments of their personal journeys, SILENCED explores how the extraordinary campaigns of intimidation and punishment carried out by government authorities wreak havoc on the personal lives of those who decide to speak out about wrongdoing. Following the case of John Kiraikou as it happens, audiences will for the first time experience the emotional, moral and financial struggles of a whistleblower, and the effects on himself and his family as the full weight of the government's legal apparatus is unleashed against him.

For more on the film, watch here and visit the official page.

Academy Award® nominee James Spione is an independent filmmaker based in New York City. His most recent work, the powerful Oscar - nominated war film Incident in New Baghdad, premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary Short. In February 2012, Incident in New Baghdad was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject.

Spione's earlier documentaries include the documentary feature, American Farm, detailing the demise of his family's fifth - generation homestead in central New York State and the poignant portrait film Our Island Home, about the last surviving denizens of a vanished settlement off the coast of Virginia,

Spione has also made a number of fiction films. Perhaps his best - known works are the eerie Sundance favorite Garden, a suspenseful drama starring Oscar® winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and veteran character actor Matt Malloy (Six Feet Under) and The Playroom, starring Pamela Stewart (The Reception), which opened at New York's Walter Reade Theatre as part of the "Independents Night" series, and was featured on the national cable program Reel Street.

His first film Prelude earned a Student Academy Award® from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was seen at numerous international film festivals. Mr. Spione also produced the acclaimed independent feature Parallel Sons (Sundance '95), directed by John G. Young.