The opening of the feature sets the mood and nature for the film, and hence we shot it as a proof of concept teaser. It's long since finished it's festival run, with 25 festivals, and half a dozen awards, as well as a screening in the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Wrong Answer leverages a group of pre-existing films; Das Experiment and 2 American films which are based on the Stanford Prison Study (Zimbardo, 1971). The study shows how easily the average person falls into a role, be it a prisoner or a guard, and then how quickly it can escalate. Within 6 days, the real-life study was called off, as the guards were beating the prisoners at night when they thought no one was watching. And they were all normal people, volunteers. Wrong Answer modernises the psychology study, becoming an investigation into interrogation techniques and what the normal person would be willing to do to find out a dangerous truth.

This film combines a strong element of heart in its telling. At the core is Jasmine and Jake, a couple like any other, who just want to be happy, who both volunteer for the study just to chase their dreams; of career in the case of Jasmine, and an engagement ring in Jake’s case. Both get trapped as event beyond their control and knowledge spiral out of control. The theme of the film, abuse of power and control, is encapsulated in the teaser / short film also named Wrong Answer. It screened at 20+ international festivals, a dozen awards and nominations, and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Click on the image below to view the film:

Jasmine also wrestles with another demon not of her own making, as a Muslim who is dating outside her faith, she is ostracized by her community. She missed her family terribly, but she follows her heart. But the study brings prejudices to the surface, and when it all goes wrong, she is an easy target for the powers that be to blame. But this is no meek and shy young lady, Jasmine wants to know why her boyfriend is traumatized and she'll fight to the end for it.

Wrong Answer is set in the real world, in environments we all know and are familiar with, but there's an edge to each environment, something unsettling and uncertain. Jasmine and Jake's home is safe, but the car accident that left her permanently disabled has them short of cash. The university is a place of learning, grand and wise, yet hidden behind its walls is the study area, where Jake is driven insane. Farley's house is every bit the wealthy professor's perfect world, yet the spectre of his dead wife hovers over everything he does. It's our world, but it's not a safe place for the characters

Institutional torture has existed in mankind for millennia. The Romans used crucifixion in a very public manner as a warning to anyone who thought to break their laws. The Spanish Inquisition, while claiming the higher ground of holiness, used torture to force confessions out of those they deemed heretics. It never mattered if the confessions were real or not, as long as the result was what they were after. Some would say nothing has changed in the 550 years since the inquisition was first active, only nowadays it's not done so publicly.

Some modern techniques for extracting information, such as drugs and hypnoisis, are considered more human, yet in some ways are more insidious. But the terrifying truth is that methods used since time began are still being used now, the most publicized is waterboarding. The victim believes that they are quite literally being drowned, something so terrifying to a land based animal such as humans. Waterboarding is nothing new...

Both Zimbardo in his prison study, and Milgram’s Obedience Study (1968), on which the short film and opening sequence is based on, looks into a question of why the German people did as they were ordered by the Nazis. They discovered that the power of the uniform, plus someone ‘taking responsibility for their actions, would lead up to 60% plus people to be able to kill when ordered to.

Since then, reality has shown that the behaviours these scientists observed in their studies were very human and very real. From the Attica prison riots in the 70s, to Strangeways Prison in the 80s, and more recently the treatment of Iraqi prisoners of war, all show what can happen within the walls of a prison. The men and women who do these jobs are usually good people, but sometimes, power truly corrupts. The images from the Stanford Study echo very clearly in modern war crimes.

A more accessible way to explain this is reality TV, and its immense popularity. The participants in shows like Big Brother and Survivor forget the cameras are watching, they truly take on the 'roles' they are in. Their emotions heightened in the pressure cooker environment of the shows, somewhat like in a prison. The viewers become so embroiled in what they watch that they feel they are part of it. The 'villains' become more villainous, like 'Evil Russell' in Survivor, the innocent victims are portrayed as unaware of their fate, and the audience hate or adore.

Muslim post graduate psychology student Jasmine Hadid thought she was just doing an article on a controversial psychology study and its creator, Richard Farley. She discovers that the obedience study brings out the worst in people. Thinking she had killed someone; she runs from the room before they can tell her it’s all fake. Distraught, she runs onto a road and his hit by a car, the injury permanently disabling her.

A year later - Jasmine’s life has changed. She is seriously dating a non-muslim, Jake Faraday, which has led to her being kicked out of her community. Living with Jake and a gothic alternative friend, Melissa Kitson, has helped her recover from a descent into alcoholism after the accident left her with a permanent limp. She has also gained a position on Farley’s next study, which is a replica of Zimbardo’s Prison study, but with a twist: it is looking at interrogation techniques. While Melissa doesn’t understand why Jasmine would want to work with Farley given what happened last time, Jake sees this as an opportunity to make money to buy Jasmine as engagement ring. But he doesn’t tell her that. Nor does Jasmine tell Jake that she found out he lied on his application form, and she corrects it to state he is claustrophobic.

Jake is picked for the study, and it ruins Jasmine’s chances to be hands on in the study area, much to her anger. She and Jake don’t get time to make up, as Jake is arrested and thrown into the study as a prisoner volunteer. Jasmine is relegated to data management and monitoring the recordings of each day. Picking up the SD cards with the footage, she meets the mysterious Roberts, a rather shadowy figure representing the National Security Agency. From what Jasmine can see, nothing much is happening in the study… but then one of the cards has an error, when footage from a previous day is recorded over the present one. Farley insists that it’s just a recorder error and instructs Jasmine to label it with the day she receives it on. However, Melissa has been researching Farley and she doesn’t trust him, neither does Roberts, who starts hinting that he wants Jasmine to spy on Farley. She refuses both of them, insisting Farley is a good man.

More errors in the footage appear, and Jasmine starts to worry that Jake might be being hurt, she has no idea what is really happening behind the study walls. Pushed by Melissa to call Roberts, he shows Jasmine a horrible truth, Farley has picked people with mental disorders, and her changing Jake’s application to say he is claustrophobic meant he got picked as a prisoner. Roberts tells her that they need evidence to stop the study. Jasmine and Melissa break into Farley’s house to find a list of the guard volunteers, and Jasmine tries to persuade some of them to tell her the truth. One of them decides to show her… and after an hour of being restrained and locked in the dark, she knows she has to stop the study. But she can’t get out in time and hides in the guard’s post… where she discovers what is really happening to Jake: he is being tortured by a sadistic guard. Swallowing her desire to stop it happening, and knowing she needs evidence, she records it all on her phone.

She decides to stop the study and contacts the ethics committee. But on the way she is mugged by 2 thugs, who steal everything. When she finally gets into the room with the board, she is horrified to find that Farley has pre-empted her and claims she has fakes the footage to punish him for his rejecting her. Security camera video shows her taking SD cards, breaking into the study and behaving suspiciously. The study is stopped, and both Melissa and a traumatized Jake believe Jasmine is guilty. Jasmine must find out the truth and prove her innocence, and the powers that be will do anything to stop her. And when Jake is driven by revenge to murder Farley, Jasmine has to save him as well as herself.