Multimedia filmmaker and senior researcher in Visual Investigations at SITU Research, applying advanced digital forensics to the fields of law, journalism, and activism.
Former editor at The New York Times. Collaborators include Frontline PBS, Human Rights Watch, and The National Lawyers Guild, among others.
Contact: evangrothjan@gmail.com
Vuelos De La Muerte | Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the Mexican government escalated an already brutal campaign against political dissidents during la guerra sucia, the “Dirty War.” This fourteen-minute video presents one of the first assemblages of visual evidence showing the systematic and highly organized program of disappearances carried out by key military officials in Guerrero, Mexico during this period.
The work weaves together both open and closed-source research, a digital 3D site model reconstructed from archival materials, high-resolution declassified spy satellite imagery, and official records released from a 2002 military investigation that did not go to trial. The analysis includes numerous written testimonies from military personnel who described their active involvement in the disappearances, information from multiple journalistic reports that have been made public over the years, and unexpected Hollywood film footage that aided in the reconstruction of the Pie de la Cuesta Air Force base–one of the primary crime scenes.
Widely circulated in Mexico, the film’s call to action demands the release of the full scope of the military’s archives to uncover additional aspects of the truth about this dark period of Mexican history. UPDATE: On August 7, 2024, a list of 183 purported victims of The Death Flights was released.
Full Film
Press Conference
Film Clip
Exhibition at Architekturmuseum der TUM
Beneath the Rubble: Documenting Devastation and Loss in Mariupol | Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch, SITU Research, and Truth Hounds collaborated to document the aftermath of Russia's assault on Mariupol, aiming to promote accountability for the perpetrators, preserve the city’s history, and strengthen advocacy against the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
To convey the human-scale impact of the city’s destruction, case studies of damaged and destroyed buildings across Mariupol were selected based on interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch. First-person perspectives were visualized using videos scraped from social media, 3D site models were reconstructed by aligning these videos in architectural software, and advanced animation techniques assured a unified narrative to the larger story. This approach resulted in both an interactive article and video available HERE.
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Case Studies
Presentation
Sow, et al. v. City of New York, et al. | National Lawyers Guild
Thousands of civil rights demonstrators protested police brutality in New York City during the George Floyd protests of 2020. Over several months, the NYPD responded with widespread force. In response, the National Lawyers Guild formed the BLM/Floyd Litigation Task Force to file a class action lawsuit against the City of New York.
During court proceedings, the NYPD provided over 6,000 video assets, including body cam and helicopter footage, along with documentation from protesters. These materials served as evidence to identify four types of constitutional violations: improper use of batons, improper use of pepper spray, excessive force, and kettling.
The most abstract of these violations—kettling—is a crowd control tactic in which police form lines around a crowd to restrict movement. Due to the complexity of demonstrating this tactic, experimentation was required to illustrate its widespread use. Aerial footage combined with graphics proved most effective, providing an overhead view that clearly showed the gradual formation of kettles. Visualizing kettling at ground level was more challenging, and required a synchronized four-channel video presentation combined with 3D mapping.
After presenting evidence of all four constitutional violations, the case was settled out of court.
Mott Haven Kettle - Video
Mott Haven Kettle - Video Still
Kettle Map, Midtown
Synced 4-Channel Video - Clip (Protestors Obscured)
The Chain of Failures that left 17 Dead in the Bronx Fire | The New York Times
On January 9, 2022, a fire in a Bronx high-rise claimed the lives of 17 New York City residents. None of the victims died from burns; all succumbed to smoke inhalation, many from several floors above the fire's origin.
A New York Times investigation, drawing on floor plans, witness videos, 911 calls, and city documents, traced the smoke's path from its ignition by a space heater on the third floor to its containment over two hours later. The investigation revealed a building constructed before modern safety codes, lacking a sprinkler system or fail-safes, and dependent on a solution called containment that failed dramatically — turning a small fire into a deadly disaster.
In partnership with engineering experts from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a Fire Dynamics simulator visualized how smoke rapidly ascended the escape stairwells like chimneys.
The interactive article can be found HERE.
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In The Garden | Personal
Full Drawing, Pen & Ink
