The United States' number two export isn't steel or lumber, it's entertainment. While global audiences watch Law and Order, regional film and television producers are often ignored in their own countries.
Shot in Africa, North America and Europe, DISTRESS SIGNALS exposes the structure of the global television industry. From TV's largest meeting at Cannes to a behind the scenes look at CNN, the film explores the forces that shape what audiences around the world will see-and therefore think-of their neighbors on the rest of the planet.


"Provocative... This slick, well-edited production exposes the dumping of another deadly American product on the global market: American television programming... Certain to be a discussion starter in high school and college media courses"-Video Rating Guide for Libraries


Directed by John Walker
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada