Full Signal
Full Signal by Tatal Jabari
There were a lot of people that didn’t know about these dangers · including myself at the time · and that is what really motivated me to make Full Signal.
As our obsession with mobile technology has taken hold, cellular antennae have sprouted up like forests. And a rising, scientifically-backed concern about the health risks can no longer be ignored. Speaking with leading scientists, activists, and the businessmen who hold the decision in their hands, ‘Full Signal’ captures a battle to take on the mobile phone companies. This crafted documentary cracks open the debate surrounding the global health risk they pose.
"When I'm near a mobile phone, the burning goes through my entire body", "I have had cancer twice." Voices of anger emanate from a hyper-communicative concrete jungle. A city that rings with a million mobile phone calls, and which pulses with the invisible radioactive signals, which could be making you seriously ill. Whilst the industry will always be quick to dismiss the costs of the multi-billion dollar Telecom machine, leading scientists say more studies must be done: "This is the world's largest biological experiment ever".
How can we explain the shocking rise in brain tumours, Lou Gehrig's disease, and Parkinsons, since the onset of GSM technology in 1997? Medical writer, Blake Levitt refers to thirteen studies which have shown that low level radiation exposure leads to "breaks in your DNA". Yet Doctor Slevin suggests just why findings are still inconclusive: "You should know who wrote the health standards - that is the Motorolas, and Nokias of the world".
For those suffering from electro-hypersensitivity, the problem is patently clear. Like many, Mrs Grandlund-lind was left with no option but to shut herself away in a house in the middle of the woods; she loses the ability to speak if in the presence of a mobile phone for a few hours. Predictably, she was told she was mad. Yet Blake Levitt is adamant that "these people are our canaries in the coalmine at the moment. We have to listen to them".
Those who aren't hyper-electro sensitive may be ever more at risk, happily living in an increasingly wireless society. When antennas went up on a neighbour's house, Evie's first thought was "I get a full signal, great!". Yet soon reports of "dizziness, inability to concentrate, disruption of menstrual cycles", came. In a village in Northern Israel, the effects were more severe. There was an unprecedented wave of cancer deaths, all in houses with giant antennae on top.
Sue and her husband think that with the levels of radiation in their apartment, they may have a precedent-setting case to bring to court. But the question is always "where's the proof? Do you have to die of cancer first?" This documentary opens our eyes to a looming catastrophe for human health worldwide.
- Official Selection, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2009
- Official Selection, Santa Fe Film Festival, 2009
- Best Documentary, Myrtle Beach Int'l Film Festival, 2009
