Defendant 5 (ATOM Study Guide)

'With my video camera I was trying to protect some of the world's oldest forests, but I threatened the interests of a billion-dollar logging corporation.' – Heidi Lee Douglas

Defendant 5, a documentary written and directed by Heidi Lee Douglas, is a morality tale of global importance about unchecked corporate power and how it threatens individuals' rights to freedom of speech. Heidi went to Tasmania to make a documentary about logging but soon found herself part of the campaign against the woodchipping of the island's ancient forests by Gunns Limited. Defendant 5 is her story.

Curriculum Links

Defendant 5 is suitable viewing for secondary school students in Years 9–12 in the subject areas of English, Civics and Citizenship, Geography, History, Media Studies and Science. It can also be used as a resource to address the general capability of Critical and Creative Thinking and the cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability.