The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire | The Secret World of Finance

Michael Oswald's film The Spider's Web reveals how at the demise of the empire, the City of London's financial interests created a web of secrecy jurisdictions that captured wealth from across the globe and hid it in a web of offshore islands. Today, up to half of global offshore wealth is hidden in British jurisdictions and Britain and its dependencies are the largest global players in The Secret World of Finance.

The UK's recent disastrous "mini" Budget can trace its origins back to Britain's decision to leave the European Union. The economic costs of Brexit were masked by the Covid-19 pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine. But six years after the UK voted to leave, the effect has become clear. In this film, senior FT writers and British businesspeople examine how Brexit hit the UK economy, the political conspiracy of silence, and why there has not yet been a convincing case for a 'Brexit dividend'.

Produced, directed and edited by Daniel Garrahan

Ambition is a collaboration between Platige Image and ESA. Directed by Tomek Bagiński and starring Aidan Gillen and Aisling Franciosi, Ambition was filmed on location in Iceland, and screened on 24 October 2014 during the British Film Institute’s celebration of Sci-Fi, at the Southbank, London.