Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter are four members of the Emergencies Team — or E-Team — the most intrepid division of a respected, international human rights group (Human Rights Watch). Trained to deal with unfolding crises, the E-Team flies to hotspots all over the world as soon as allegations of human rights abuse surface. Then they get to work — gathering crucial evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted and, if so, to investigate, document, and capture the world's attention. They also immediately challenge the responsible decision makers, holding them accountable. Human rights abuses thrive on secrecy and silence, and the work of the E-Team, backed by their international human rights organization, has shone light in dark places and given voice to thousands whose stories would never otherwise have been told.
Using a cinema verite approach, our camera follows the E-Team investigators in the field as they piece together the actual events that take place in troubled spots around the globe. Together we smuggle across the border into Syria to conduct undercover investigations as the civil war rages; amidst bullets and bombs we watch as Fred and Peter work to halt human rights abuses in the aftermath of the Gaddafi regime. We also spend time with each E-Team member at home — from a quiet farm outside of Geneva to bustling urban lives in Berlin and Paris — as they balance the intricacies of family and personal relationships within the challenges of their exceptional work life.
Though they are different personalities, Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter share a fearless spirit and a deep commitment to exposing and halting human rights abuses all over the world.
Director / Producer / Director of Photography Ross Kauffman.
Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny filming in New York City.
E-Team member Peter Bouckaert, who uses his knowledge of weaponry to solve war crimes.
E-Team members Ole Solvang and Anna Neistat met while detained in Georgia in 2008, and later married.
Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman filming at a Human Rights Watch event.
E-TEAM member Fred Abrahams is a New York native.
Peter Bouckaert was dubbed "the James Bond of human-rights investigators" by ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE.
Anna is a Russian émigré who grew up in Moscow.
A look at the editing process of E-TEAM.
Co-Cinematographer Rachel Beth Anderson films on location.
Ole Solvang (center left) balances Anna’s fiery personality with a measured and calm manner, which he maintains even when he and his wife are in personal danger.
Directors Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman filming in Fred Abraham's home in Berlin, Germany.
Fred is known for his wickedly dry sense of humor and a tireless energy.
Co-Director Ross Kauffman filmed the E-Team members on a number of missions in Syria and Libya and traveled with them to Moscow, Paris, Berlin, Geneva and beyond.
Peter Bouckaert (left) and Fred Abrahams investigate emerging human rights abuses in Libya as the Gaddafi regime topples and the country struggles to establish law and order.