Hot Docs 2008

Why are some of the world's biggest international companies translating the Ruhnama, an absurd government propaganda book from Turkmenistan, into their own languages? In this provocative film, Finnish director Arto Halonen and journalist Kevin Frazier set out to uncover how prominent international companies could willingly turn a blind eye to blatant human rights violations in the name of corporate greed. The documentary follows the filmmakers from Central Asia to Europe and the U.S. as they track down the companies that give their clandestine support to the Ruhnama (The Book of Soul), a propaganda tool written by Turkmenistan's dictatorship to maintain social and political control. The Ruhnama has become an infamous symbol of the shame of Western companies that ignore corruption in order to secure multimillion-dollar deals. Shadow of the Holy Book offers a probing investigation into the immorality of corrupt international business.
-Sarah Whitehouse