In 2001, anti-Scientology crusader Bob Minton funded a $3 million movie called The Profit. Intended as an exposure of the secrets behind Scientology, The Profit was plagued with problems from the start. The Church of Scientology unleashed its dreaded attack machine in the form of litigation and dirty tricks, and while the movie was completed, no one wanted to touch it. The film did have one single screening in Clearwater, Florida (the home of Scientology's largest facility, the Fort Harrison Hotel or "Flag Land Base""); but after that it disappeared. Minton did an about-face and began working for Scientology about a year after the film's release, and since then the movie has been suppressed and has not seen the light of day.

This story was certainly in the mind of director Brett Hanover when he set out to make a film about Scientology: he certainly knew that they would be putting himself under the glare of the Church of Scientology by doing so. So, rather than go through the troubles and delays that plagued The Profit, Hanover took the guerilla-filmmaker approach. Working on a shoestring budget, he made his Scientology movie in only five days, filmed largely on location at a hotel in Norway, well out of sight of Scientology's spies. And now that the movie is finished and available, he decided to avoid a theatrical release completely and make the film available for download on the Internet. Word of the movie spread like wildfire, and the film has been downloaded over 1,500 times from one mirror site at the Internet Archive (www.archive.org/details/BrettHanoverTheBridge) alone. [...]

The Bridge is a 69-minute low-budget film, directed by 18-year-old filmmaker Brett Hanover.

The film is a fictional story of involvement and disillusionment with Scientology. The film explicitly uses Scientology terms throughout, going so far as including actual clips from official Scientology promotional and training materials. It was released^[1] as a free download over the internet in September 2006 by the filmmaker.

The movie was filmed over a five-day period at a Norwegian hotel in order to avoid potential interference from Scientologists^[2]. Former Scientologists were involved in the production of the film^[3]. [...]

“The Bridge,” an anti-Scientology film, was removed from the Internet — and one critic is claiming that folks linked to the religion put pressure on the filmmaker, Brett Hanover. “[I]t appears that Scientology has hired investigators to dig up dirt on Brett Hanover to shudder him into silence,” writes blogger Mark Bunker. “They have succeeded.”

XENU TV is proud to present this important motion picture. Writer/Director Brett Hanover has produced the first, full length feature film about Scientology. It concerns a young woman drawn deep into the organization as she joins staff, becomes Clear and begins to doubt what she experiences around her.

Brett's film covers important issues such as disconnection of family members, Suppressive Person Declares and the use of training routines and security checks. Set down the e-meter and prepare to enter the world of the Sea Org.

Directed by

Brett Hanover

Writing credits

Brett Hanover

Release date:

September 2006 (Norway) more

Genre:

Drama more

Plot Outline:

A father must try to save his daughter from deep within the cult of Scientology, while a young woman working for the Scientologists must question her faith.

Plot Keywords:

Dianetics / Cult / Scientology

[...]