Documentary captures the story of Andrew Sadek and the abuse of local law enforcement

FARGO, N.D. (OCT. 26, 2020) – The feature documentary film The Dakota Entrapment Tapes will have its local premiere at the 2020 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. The film will be available for viewing from midnight, Sunday, November 8 through midnight, Sunday, November 15.

The strange case of a missing teenager in a North Dakota college town implicates the campus police. In a sleepy North Dakota town, where the crime rate is so low, people often don’t lock their front doors, 20-year-old college student Andrew Sadek mysteriously disappears in May 2014 and is found dead almost two months later.

What Andrew’s friends and family didn’t know was that in the months before his death, he had been coerced into becoming an informant for an aggressive police task force that had been secretly operating for years.

As details of Andrew’s double life are revealed, the cover of the shadowy program is blown, laying bare the collusion and abuse of power of local law enforcement at all levels.

Following the Sadek family’s fight for the truth about how their son was killed, the film skillfully uncovers the forces at play in his death and reveals why law enforcement secretly waged a war on drugs, on a college campus that didn’t have a drug problem.

The film was directed by Trevor Birney. A pre-recorded Q&A with Trevor will be available for viewing after the film.

38 films from 28 countries will be available to audiences from the comfort of their homes. The festival will be presented online, and audiences can view the films on their TV’s with the Eventive app found on Apple TV and Roku streaming devices. Viewers can also watch or cast on their computers, tablets, or mobile phones.

Issues addressed by other short narrative, short documentary and student films selected for the festival include the deconstruction of stereotypes for individuals with mental or physical disabilities, LGBTQ rights and discrimination, women’s rights and cultural discrimination, stories of refugee experiences and discrimination, and human and civil rights violations, discrimination and violence towards Native American culture. Films will also directly speak to the recent peaceful resistance by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now. An All-Access pass that provides access to all films in the festival is $35. Individual sessions are $12. Passes and individual tickets are available online at www.ndhrff.org. To view the film catalog and films, attendees will utilize the Eventive platform available at https://ndhrff2020.eventive.org

Pre-recorded Q&As with filmmakers will be available throughout the festival. A series of live discussions will be scheduled for the week of November 8, including a 5-year retrospective with the filmmakers of “Welcome to Leith.” The film documented the attempted takeover of Leith’s small town, North Dakota, by white supremacist Craig Cobb; A discussions about health care and access to care in Indian Country with North Dakota filmmaker Justin Deegan. His film, “Another Scar of Genocide: Diabetes in Indian Country” highlights the epidemic of diabetes currently impacting Native populations; and more. Specific dates and times for live conversations will be highlighted and announced individually in the coming days.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival has moved online for the 2020 season. Films will be screened beginning midnight Sunday, November 8 through midnight Sunday, November 15. A majority of films are available Video-on-Demand and may be viewed anytime during the festival. Certain films have limited availability. See the online film guide for official screening times and additional information.

The mission of the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival is to educate, engage, and facilitate discussion around local and worldwide human-rights topics through the work of filmmakers and artists. The festival is a non-partisan event, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information about the 2020 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival or to arrange interviews with visiting filmmakers, contact Sean Coffman at (701) 205-0248 x101.

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