Operation Spring

It is not the unusual cinematography that gives this film its power, but the unusual precision and significant analysis of a highly controversial court case in Austria. The two directors Schuster and Sindelgruber reconstruct the events that followed the death of the Nigerian refugee Marcus Omufuma. Groups of Nigerians organised demonstrations to protest against the death of their compatriot and fellow refugee. Shortly before the elections in 1999, hundreds of them were taken from their beds at night during the biggest police raids in Austria since 1945. The Nigerians were accused of drug trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation. More such actions were to follow. It is the ease with which the Austrian media and public opinion accepted these developments that set the film makers thinking. In their reconstruction of the court case, they remain objective. They calmly track all the various steps in the trial and identify the many weak spots in the case, based on contradictions in evidence and witness statements. In the end, they dissect the very complex trial in a way that proves the dubious relationship between police and media and makes the presence of racism abundantly clear. This makes the film not only an indictment of the indolence of Austrian justice, but also a plea for much more independent journalism. (PvH)