Callisto: Hunt for the Truth

Callisto: Hunt for the Truth is a motion picture released in March 2494. Part drama, part documentary, it tells the story of the Callisto Incident and the UNSC's attempted coverup. It is considered a crown jewel of propaganda for colonial independence movements, such as the Secessionist Union.

The boarding of the merchant ship Fridall is told Rashomon-style through contradictory flashbacks. The framing story that ties the flashbacks together is that of JAG attorney Tomas Lambert as he interviews the crew of the UNSC Callisto and uncovers evidence of systematic corruption and cover-ups by the UNSC in the outer colonies.

Callisto: Hunt for the Truth was massively successful. Turned out by a production crew of forty-three people less than three months after the Callisto incident, it went on to earn three billion credits on a shoestring budget of just over a million credits. Key to the success of the film was that none of the combat scenes were filmed by I.D. Vision Studios. The scenes were cut from another film, skillfully edited, and dubbed over, which allowed the studio to produce the film with a rapid turnaround. The movie went live when the incident was fresh in the publics mind.

The combat scenes were lifted from Action At Groombridge 1319, a high-budged film about UNSC Marines storming a pirate-held merchant freighter. The movie sold itself on the technical accuracy of the combat and space scenes. However, the behind-the-scenes drama and the nonsensical story warned audiences away, and it was a commercial flop. The troubled production was good news for I.D. Vision, as the numerous reshoots and alternate scenes gave them plenty of material for the Rashomon scenes in Callisto.

Fabermax Productions, which produced and distributed Groombridge, took I.D. Vision to court for copyright infringement, but the newly deep pockets of I.D. Vision meant that they could put up a fight. The court case dragged on for years, and only inflamed the anti-Earth sentiment that Callisto sparked.