Bloody Cartoons

When in September 2005 the Danish newspaper Jyllands–Posten published a series of caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, it sparked unprecedented protests around the Muslim world. The demonstrations were so intense and so well organised that it led to questions as to whether they were really a spontaneous expression of Muslim anger. Danish investigative journalist and documentary maker Karsten Kjaer attempted to find out who could have had an interest in the protests spreading so far and an escalation of hatred towards the West. He conducted dozens of interviews in an attempt to untangle the web of events which followed the publishing of the cartoons; he spoke to religious leaders responsible for instigating violence, demonstrators who had set embassies on fire, journalists and newspaper publishers. Kjaer visited Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Turkey and Qatar, often posing the question of where the border of free speech, one of the pillars of democracy, lies. Bloody Cartoons goes far beyond reaction to the caricatures. It examines the source of differing values, misunderstanding and mutual intolerance – especially when backed by manipulated information and deliberately abused by people.