$2,500 Doco About FTX Drops On Amazon Prime… With Mom’s Help

Richard Whittaker's day job is editing movies about Arctic reindeer and killer sharks in the Pacific – but when a major crypto exchange collapses in 2022, the blame is pointed at the awkward, blond-haired founder, who he knew he wanted to make a documentary about.

Sixteen months later, Whittaker's home-grown film about the fall, FTX: When Money Breaks, is streaming for free on Prime Video in the UK and available to rent or buy in the US and Australia. Not bad for a small production made with the help of his mother and a budget of around $2,500.

Whittar — who has never touched crypto — isn't the first person you'd think would make such a documentary. By day, Whittaker is a full-time editing assistant for a BBC documentary, editing wildlife footage at Adobe Premiere for productions narrated by Cate Blanchett as Our Living World.

A nature journalist laughs when we ask how he made a film about magic internet coins. Like many people, he became interested in the title in 2022 mainly because of the charismatic but strange personality of Sam Bankman-Fried, who became officially famous.

“It was six months ago. [the collapse] That he is [Sam Bankman-Fried] “It started popping up a little bit on my food,” he said.

“One of the clips that I use very little [in the documentary] It was ‘Sam is a very generous billionaire'. I thought it was amazing.

Bahnmann-Fried, the world's most famous purveyor of effective altruism, has given many interviews about his grand plan to make billions in order to give it all to charity. The magazine asked him in February 2021 if he was trying to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

“Maybe without the thug part,” he said, dripping with perceptive benefit.

Bankman-Fried was unusual in other ways as well. While most crypto influencers sport Lamborghinis, huge houses, and luxury watches, SBF's public image is all about sleeping on bean bags in the office, doing live TV interviews in a shirt and shorts, playing video games, and driving around in a Toyota Corolla.

“It was the opposite of what I had seen,” Whittaker said.

So when it all came crashing down in November 2022, Whittaker had to figure out how it all happened.

And he asked his mother.

“It's funny, but the first thing I did was tell my mom,” says Whittaker. Susan Whittaker played a key role in the film's production. An academic, she is also a former auditor of a mid-sized UK accounting firm. In the documentary, Susan offers a professional opinion on FTX's shady business and accounting practices.

After the collapse, Whittaker and his mother began drawing boards and sifting through court and company documents to find out how it happened and where the money went – like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, crypto version.

“Yes, I think I'm very lucky in that, because my mother and I have very similar interests. Interacting with her and getting a good report makes things like this very interesting.

He added: “One of the things I wanted to do with the Money Breaks series was make things more cohesive.

In that regard, Whitaker does a good job – although it's clear that the film is trying to address a wider audience than just crypto-natives.

The main constraint on the film was the budget, which was “about £2,000, including legal and licensing and other things. So the budget was very thin in the end.

That means camera hire is limited, and even stock footage is unattainable in some cases. Eagle-eyed viewers may notice a brief shot of a homeless man who appears to be holding a sign that reads, “I lost all my money on FTX.” This is actually Whittaker himself.

“It was really funny because I found a stock footage on a website and it was a guy holding a sign. I was thinking of buying it and I was going to exchange the sign. […] But they wanted £300.

“I remember turning to my girlfriend, who I was incredibly proud of, and saying, ‘Can you film me in just some steps in a hoodie?' […] He was cooking [hot] that day.”

A big clue that this is citizen journalism and not a full-fledged doco is the lack of expert opinion. Other than Whittaker's mother, the only people interviewed on camera appear to be members of the Bistrot public, who offer no insight into FTX. Not many seem to own cryptocurrency.

“If I ever make another movie, I hope to get more intellectuals in front of the camera to talk a little more,” Richards said.

“It was definitely a learning curve making the documentary. Sure enough, for the next one, we'll basically do a full belt and brace and maybe get an independent fact checker.

Movie Review: When FTX Breaks Money

FTX: Financial Breaks begins with the premise that everything in our daily lives is done with money, and the narrator asks, “What happens when the entire financial system breaks down?” he asked.

The documentary sets the scene for crypto trading as an attractive “side hustle” for many, taking advantage of FTX's easy-to-use platform and 8% interest rates.

The 54-minute film immediately attempts to explain the events leading up to FTX's downfall and the crazy revelations in its wake. Sam Bankman-Fried's personal life gets big screen time, with the documentary touching on the beef between SBF and Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, which led to Binance dumping all FTT tokens and deepening its collapse.

It brings FTX's top-heavy management structure, complex network of companies (including Alameda) and the exchange's embarrassing accounting system, which relies heavily on Quickbooks, among others.

Unfortunately, the film's release was delayed, so events overtook him a bit. As Whittar said earlier, there are also a few facts that are more precisely proven.

For example, the documentary shows that the crypto exchange Binance is based in China, although the company does not have an official headquarters. The film also suggests that there were only 120 cases of crypto fraud – but of course the number is much higher than that.

Whittar admits that the film's small budget only allowed him to hire professional camera equipment in three to four days. As a result, it relies heavily on stock footage—people in business suits shaking hands, etc.—and some footage looks like it was shot with a smartphone camera, which can be a bit distracting.

To its credit, some of the low-budget footage gives the documentary a “citizen journalism” aesthetic and is the film's most enjoyable part.

I especially liked some of the more badass scenes featuring Whittaker, like when he tries to hire someone to use Fiver to create a crypto token for him – and instead gets pulled under the rug in a proper manner.

A few facts aside, Whittar's documentary is an attempt to explain a very complicated saga in a short amount of time.

There's a wholesome charm to it all, and it's clearly made with a lot of love – which means we can forgive Whittaker for occasionally getting a few facts straight.

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Felix Ng

Felix Ng first started writing about the blockchain industry through the lens of a gambling industry journalist and editor in 2015. Since then, he has moved on to cover the blockchain space full-time. He is very interested in innovative blockchain technology aimed at solving real-world challenges.