Secret Project Revolution is a 2013 American short film directed by Madonna and Steven Klein that deals with artistic freedom and human rights. The film launched a global initiative, Art for Freedom, to further freedom of expression; the initiative was created by Madonna, curated by Vice, and distributed by BitTorrent. The goal of Art for Freedom is to promote and facilitate free expression and thereby combat the repression of artistic expression.

Synopsis
Secret Project Revolution is a 17-minute black-and-white film that features Madonna's off-camera commentary throughout, consisting of a narrative recorded exclusively for the project as well as excerpts from her onstage speeches during The MDNA Tour. It opens with a scene depicting Madonna locked in a prison cell, holding the bars; this is projected against a voice-over composed of excerpts from her onstage speech at the Olympia in Paris in July 2012. The speech reflected on the global economic situation at the time, arguing that fear is the source of intolerance. The film then shows a pantomime in which the tour dancers sit and stand motionless in a room while Madonna enters holding a gun — representing branding — and begins shooting them. This section ends with the words "All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl," a quote from Jean-Luc Godard, displayed across the screen. The following scene shows Madonna being dragged by police officers to a cell, where she is thrown to the floor. Her narrative begins, explaining the circumstances that prompted the project. For several minutes, footage of Madonna in her cell alternates with scenes of a man being tortured and a dancer performing routines. Madonna is then shown restrained on a bed while a dancer teases her and simulates torture. The next scene depicts an imprisoned man who has clearly been physically tortured, blood on his face and chest. In the following segment, dancers perform routines and adopt expressive poses as downtempo piano music plays and Madonna continues her narrative. An almost nude man dances in front of guards, and Madonna's a cappella performance of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" begins, followed by excerpts from her Saint Petersburg speech. Footage of Madonna killing the dancers is played backwards, restoring them to life. Madonna is again shown being dragged by police officers, who drop her on the floor and look down on her. This is followed by a Jean-Paul Sartre quote: "Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." The film ends with a dedication to those who have been, are, or may be persecuted for the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, their artistic expression, their gender, or their sexual preferences. For anyone whose human rights have been violated.

Production Background

In late 2012, Madonna and Steven Klein were due to work together on a photo shoot for the promotional campaign of shoes and lingerie she had designed as part of her Truth or Dare collection. However, her products were met with an unfavorable reception from the distributing company as being too provocative, which led to cancellation of the whole project. Instead, Madonna decided to use the set to film the project with Klein and her dancers, using lingerie she had designed. The work began in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in mid-December 2012, during Madonna's break between performances in the country. In the following weeks, the singer began writing the narration and more footage was produced. The film was her artistic response to a series of social and political events that took place around the world while she was performing The MDNA Tour in the second half of 2012. These events included, among others, the threat of Israel striking Iran, the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko in Ukraine and Pussy Riot in Russia, gay rights violations, the United States presidential election, and the attempted assassination of Malala Yousafzai. One scene was inspired by the film The Night Porter, while another was inspired by the scene in the film noir Caged in which Eleanor Parker is jailed. Madonna has described secretprojectrevolution as one of the most important things she has ever done. Development: On December 14, 2012, a picture taken on the set surfaced online, sparking rumors that Madonna was working on a new music video, which many fans thought would be "Gang Bang." On December 19, Steven Klein first referred to the film as "#secretproject" on Twitter, which would serve as its official name. Later that month he contacted Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Cher, Dita Von Teese, and Naomi Campbell on Twitter, inviting them to participate. A picture captioned "From Madonna to Rihanna 2 of 3" emerged in early 2013, followed by a photograph of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss associated with the project. More set pictures surfaced, and Madonna began posting stills and related images on Instagram in March 2013, using the hashtag #secretproject, later changed to #secretprojectrevolution. On March 20, 2013, Klein published the first trailer for the film. In July, rumors circulated that the project was actually a launch of a new clothing line designed by Madonna's then-partner Brahim Zaibat.

Release: Initially announced for release on May 12, 2013, the film ultimately premiered on September 23, 2013, with eighteen outdoor screenings across five cities in four countries: New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Berlin, and London. The following day, Secretprojectrevolution was released in the same form in Chicago, San Francisco, Rome, Paris, and Tel Aviv, the latter added at the last minute as the final location. All locations were revealed shortly before the events via Madonna's social media profiles. On September 24, the full film was uploaded to YouTube and released via BitTorrent's new Bundle feature. The Bundle included unlocked trailers and stills, plus three videos and a written message from Madonna; these items were locked but could be unlocked by submitting a valid email address. BitTorrent said the Bundle feature was still in alpha.