“Really original in the story it tells… Mirage Men presents an astonishing new perspective on the UFO mythology, and opens up the much wider question of how we know what we know about the world outside… a brilliant piece of work.”
– Adam Curtis, Director of The Power of Nightmares, The Century of the Self.
“This is an incredible story about deception and tomfoolery in high places. The filmmakers have uncovered a tale that tells us that everything we thought we knew about UFOs is wrong. And the truth – the true truth – is much more interesting.”
Jon Ronson – Author, The Psychopath Test, Men Who Stare at Goats.
UFOs: weapons of mass deception… For over 60 years teams within the US Air Force and Intelligence services exploited and manipulated beliefs about UFOs and ET visitations as part of their counterintelligence programmes. In doing so they spawned a mythology so powerful that it captivated and warped many brilliant minds, including several of their own. Now, for the first time, some of those behind these operations, and their victims, speak out, revealing a true story that is part Manchurian Candidate and part Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Mirage Men had its world premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest in June 2013, its US premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas in September 2013, its Australian premiere at the Canberra International Film Festival in October in 2013 and its Nordic premiere at the Stockholm Film Festival in Sweden in November 2013.
Trailer: (iTunes)
Purchase online streaming (Amazon)
Purchase 2 disk DVD from Strange Attractor (extended background video and booklet)
Purchase online streaming (iTunes USA)
Official website
“A documentary like no other… Beautifully put together… It raises pressing questions about information and media control and exposes not only the sheer power of the mind but the damage that can be caused to society when that power is misused.” DocGeeks.com review by Monica Heck
“Watching Mirage Men plunges you into a vortex of half-truths, lies, manipulation, bluffs and double bluffs. It’s not quite clear who we should believe… But so many nagging questions surface… Mirage Men effectively admits as much, and unlike lesser documentaries does not even attempt to seek refuge in easy answers or pat plot resolutions. One rather admires it for that.” The Telegraph review by David Gritten
“Mirage Men takes a fascinating excursion into a twilight zone of wild conspiracies, obsessive believers and psychological double agents… Never less than engaging… [it] touches on some accidentally topical material, including the ethics of NSA snooping and secret unmanned drone aircraft. The evergreen theme, eccentric personalities and bizarre anecdotes here are strong enough to guarantee further festival slots following the documentary’s Sheffield debut.” The Hollywood Reporter
“A chilling descent into the murky underworld of myth-making, showing the extent to which… ideas and theories concerning this subject are produced and promulgated by the US Government. Mirage Men is not interested in proving or indeed, disproving the existence of extra-terrestrials. Rather, it seeks to look at how we come to know the things that we know about alien conspiracy theories, questioning the often disquieting origins of the UFO’s infiltration into the popular culture of today.” DOX Magazine
Mirage Men is necessary viewing for anybody with an interest in either the topic of UFOs, or the role of government agencies in spying on and/or deceiving their own citizens. The former may be a specialised group, but the latter should include everyone. A highly recommended documentary – if your eyes weren’t already open, they will be after watching this film. Greg Taylor, Daily Grail
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Listen to the Resonance FM radio interview about Mirage Men here.
Mirage Men has been excerpted in the new Adam Curtis documentary HyperNormalisation on BBC iPlayer.