The Hammer

SYNOPSIS

THE HAMMER is the story of one man who dared to challenge the world’s mightiest war machine, armed only with courage, faith and a household hammer. This is the untold story of Ciaron O’Reilly – an Australian protestor who pulled off outrageous escapades to infiltrate US military bases and disable military planes headed for war – using little more than faith and a $20 hardware store hammer.

From the intrigue, planning and infiltration of US military bases, to surviving a Texas prison, we explore Ciaron’s life-long vow of poverty and the movement he emerged from, to his legal skirmishes with the US military – THE HAMMER tells the inspiring story of a regular person performing extraordinary acts. At its core, this profound story of sacrifice versus authority explores the immense courage, faith and divine madness required to challenge the world’s strongest superpower.

Part thriller, part protest film, part philosophical journey, THE HAMMER is an exhilarating heist film an d inspiring take about an everyday man’s sacrifice to oppose war and wage peace.

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Director Ben Lawrence

Ben is a director, screenwriter and producer. He is an AACTA & Walkley nominee, and four-time Australian Writers Guild Award winner across feature film, documentary and podcast categories.

His 2018 feature documentary, Ghosthunter won the Sydney Film Festival DAF award and was nominated for the prestigious Illuminate Award at Sheffield DocFest. His Audible podcast, which he presented & co-wrote was voted top 5 podcasts of 2019 by Rolling Stone Magazine. Ben has also directed factual series for ABC, including Stuff the British Stole and the 4-Corners investigative series, Exposed.

His latest documentary, Ithaka was an AACTA and Walkley Award nominee and opened the Berlin Human Rights Film festival – where it won the Audience Award. Ithaka also screened in competition at the Sydney Film Festival, DocNYC, Sheffield and DocEdge Festival, where Ben was awarded Best International Director.

Charlotte started her career in the UK and over the course of a 15-year career worked with BBC, History, Discovery, National Geographic and PBS. Since relocating to Australia she has worked as a Producer and Production Executive and as of 2022 became Head of Factual at GoodThing Productions.

Her credits include AACTA nominated Clean (SXSW/ SBS), Off Country (MIFF/NITV), Collingwood: From the Inside Out (MIFF/ABC), Audience award winning Greenhouse by Joost (MIFF) and recently release Adelaide Film Festival feature documentary You Can Go Now.

Gabriel Shipton is an award-winning film producer and the brother of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. He has focused on producing unlikely, socially impactful independent films and documentaries. Gabriel has consistently shown his ability to work with independent voices, passionate about subjects as diverse as Indigenous issues to taking on Big Pharma. His first project as a producer, Imogen Thomas’ EMU RUNNER, made its worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2018 and was nominated for an Australian AACTA award in 2019. His follow up Arabic language psychological thriller FARAH sold to Netflix in 2021. In 2022 Gabriel produced ITHAKA: A FIGHT TO FREE JULIAN ASSANGE. ITHAKA was nominated for the 2022 Walkley Award for Best Documentary, received the Audience Award at the Berlin Human Rights Festival, and The Amnesty Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. It has been viewed by millions around the world, and broadcast on the ABC and ITV UK.