Paul Jay

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about paul jay

Paul Jay is a filmmaker whose work focusses not only on the players, but who built and owns the stage. He was the founder of the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto and executive producer of the CBC daily debate television show Counterspin for 10 years.

From the world of professional wrestling to Las Vegas casinos, from Afghan battlefields to Baltimore’s streets and the halls of Congress, his films and journalism reveal the systems that shape human life.

Jay is currently producing and directing the feature documentary “How to Stop a Nuclear War,” based on Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg’s book “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.” The film is narrated by acclaimed actor Emma Thompson, with additional support from Kristen Stewart.

The film picks up where “The Day After” and “Oppenheimer” left off, unfolding as a gripping political thriller that unveils the stark realities of present-day nuclear dangers and the little-known history of the “institutional madness” that has brought us perilously close to the edge. Starting from the present and urgent threat, the documentary explores how we got here and proposes concrete solutions to greatly reduce the risk of nuclear war. The film tells the story of Ellsberg’s journey from cold warrior hawk to anti-nuclear weapons activist, as he reveals the secrets and lies of nuclear war planning and discovers a culture of institutional madness and profit-making at the root of U.S. nuclear war strategy.

for updates on the film How to Stop a Nuclear War

  • Hitman Hart
    Bret Hart, five times champion of the WWF, sits in a hotel room one day before the most important fight of his life. Sure, it is just professional wrestling but this match is different. What Bret does not know is that he will be the target of the biggest double cross in the history of…
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    Hitman Hart
    Bret Hart, five times champion of the WWF, sits in a hotel room one day before the most important fight of his life. Sure, it is just professional wrestling but this match is different. What Bret does not know is that he will be the target of the biggest double cross in the history of…
    VIEW the film & read More
  • Return to Kandahar
    Nelofer Pazira, the star of the movie “Kandahar”, returns to her native Afghanistan. In the hope of tracking down her childhood friend Dyana — whose story inspired the feature film — Nelofer travels to the city of Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. Landing in Kabul, after 13 years, Nelofer unravels her past and the unfolding of…
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    Return to Kandahar
    Nelofer Pazira, the star of the movie “Kandahar”, returns to her native Afghanistan. In the hope of tracking down her childhood friend Dyana — whose story inspired the feature film — Nelofer travels to the city of Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. Landing in Kabul, after 13 years, Nelofer unravels her past and the unfolding of…
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  • Lost in Las Vegas
    Lost in Las Vegas is a film about reality and fantasy, money and morality, and the price one pays to chase a dream. It tells the story of Canadians Wayne Catania and Kieran Lafferty, who take their Blues Brothers act to Las Vegas and audition for the famous Legends impersonators show. This begins an Alice…
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    Lost in Las Vegas
    Lost in Las Vegas is a film about reality and fantasy, money and morality, and the price one pays to chase a dream. It tells the story of Canadians Wayne Catania and Kieran Lafferty, who take their Blues Brothers act to Las Vegas and audition for the famous Legends impersonators show. This begins an Alice…
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  • The Life and Death of Owen Hart
    Bret Hart’s younger brother Owen died tragically in the ring on May 23, 1999, when a safety harness failed during a WWF pay-per-view stunt. This feature documentary from Paul Jay goes behind the headlines to tell the human story of the Hart family, the wrestling business that killed Owen, and the legal battle that followed.
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    The Life and Death of Owen Hart
    Bret Hart’s younger brother Owen died tragically in the ring on May 23, 1999, when a safety harness failed during a WWF pay-per-view stunt. This feature documentary from Paul Jay goes behind the headlines to tell the human story of the Hart family, the wrestling business that killed Owen, and the legal battle that followed.
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  • Albanian Journey, End of an Era
    Albanian Journey: End of an Era Albanian Journey: End of an Era is Paul Jay’s portrait of a country emerging from one of Europe’s most isolated and authoritarian socialist experiments.
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    Albanian Journey, End of an Era
    Albanian Journey: End of an Era Albanian Journey: End of an Era is Paul Jay’s portrait of a country emerging from one of Europe’s most isolated and authoritarian socialist experiments.
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  • Neverendum Referendum
    Never-Endum Referendum is politics at its most personal. Rick and Roxanne’s marriage is peaceful – until with the cameras rolling, they start talking Quebec politics. Daryl is a sovereigntist and Linda is a federalist. The hearts of their children become a battle-ground for their political beliefs.
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    Neverendum Referendum
    Never-Endum Referendum is politics at its most personal. Rick and Roxanne’s marriage is peaceful – until with the cameras rolling, they start talking Quebec politics. Daryl is a sovereigntist and Linda is a federalist. The hearts of their children become a battle-ground for their political beliefs.
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  • White Smoking Devil
    Episode 1 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 1 — White Smoking Devil.  The opening chapter of a sweeping documentary on the machine gun: how a single invention remade warfare, powered empire, and drove the American century. From the mills of Hartford to the plains of Wyoming, a…
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    White Smoking Devil
    Episode 1 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 1 — White Smoking Devil.  The opening chapter of a sweeping documentary on the machine gun: how a single invention remade warfare, powered empire, and drove the American century. From the mills of Hartford to the plains of Wyoming, a…
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  • The Gun Comes Home Then Goes to War Again
    Episode 2 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 2 — The Gun Comes Home Then Goes to War Again. After the American Civil War, the machine gun returns as an instrument of domestic repression and colonial conquest. From Ludlow to Cuba and the Philippines, the weapon follows the…
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    The Gun Comes Home Then Goes to War Again
    Episode 2 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 2 — The Gun Comes Home Then Goes to War Again. After the American Civil War, the machine gun returns as an instrument of domestic repression and colonial conquest. From Ludlow to Cuba and the Philippines, the weapon follows the…
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  • Age of Kalashnikov’s AK 47
    Episode 3 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 3 — Age of the Kalashnikov. From the trenches of two world wars to the anti-colonial uprisings of the 20th century, the AK-47 becomes the people’s weapon and the defining symbol of modern asymmetric warfare. At the center of every…
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    Age of Kalashnikov’s AK 47
    Episode 3 of 3 | Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun Episode 3 — Age of the Kalashnikov. From the trenches of two world wars to the anti-colonial uprisings of the 20th century, the AK-47 becomes the people’s weapon and the defining symbol of modern asymmetric warfare. At the center of every…
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  • The Birth of Language
    What is the meaning of language?  How and where did it begin? This original and challenging film explores human evolution and the development of language, combining documentary footage, expert interviews and dramatic re-enactments to unravel the fascinating origins of what sets humans apart. At the center of every armed conflict of the 20th Century, the…
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    The Birth of Language
    What is the meaning of language?  How and where did it begin? This original and challenging film explores human evolution and the development of language, combining documentary footage, expert interviews and dramatic re-enactments to unravel the fascinating origins of what sets humans apart. At the center of every armed conflict of the 20th Century, the…
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The Hollywood Reporter

has published exclusive articles on the upcoming documentary:

The project has taken Jay to speaking engagements at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, the Emergency Festival in Reggio Emilia, and the Outrider Nuclear Summit in Little Rock, as well as universities including UMass, Tufts, and the University of Toronto.

Selected Filmography

Play
Hitman Hart
Wrestling With Shadows
Play
The Life and Death
of Owen Hart
Play
Return to
Kandahar
Play
NeverEndum Referendum
Play
Albanian Journey
End of an Era
Play
The Birth of Language
Play
white smoking devil
Machine Gun, Rise of US Empire
Play
The Gun Comes Home
Machine Gun, Rise of US Empire
Play
Age of Kalashnikov
Machine Gun, Rise of US Empire

How to Stop a Nuclear War

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