Country: France, United States
Language: English, Burmese, Russian, French, Spanish, Mandarin

About the film:

Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is a compelling 2025 documentary by Raoul Peck that revisits George Orwell’s life, writings, and the lasting impact of his dystopian classic 1984. Narrated by Damian Lewis, the film weaves together Orwell’s letters, essays, and footage from cinematic adaptations with contemporary visuals—a cinematic essay that reveals how themes such as Big Brother, newspeak, and doublethink have become increasingly resonant in today’s world of surveillance and manipulated truth. Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is both tribute and alarm call, reminding us how fiction can manifest in reality.

About the filmmaker: 

Raoul Peck (b. September 9, 1953, Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a critically acclaimed Haitian filmmaker, activist, and former Minister of Culture. Educated in Germany, he founded Velvet Film and is known for daring documentaries and feature films that examine race, colonialism, and political power. Peck earned global recognition with I Am Not Your Negro (2016), an Oscar-nominated exploration of James Baldwin’s legacy, and his Peabody Award–winning HBO series Exterminate All the Brutes (2021), which recontextualizes the history of imperialism and genocide. Recent projects include Silver Dollar Road (2023) and Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (2024), the latter receiving Cannes’ L’Œil d’or for Best Documentary.

MAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners

WITH HELP FROM
G&J Pepsi
WOSU Public Media