Submissions closed

2024 Nominees

Telemarketers

HBO Documentary Films, Elara Pictures, ALL FACTS, Roug

USA

- Crime & Investigative


TELEMARKETERS chronicles the darkly comedic, unexpected 20-year journey of two unlikely office buddies, who stumble upon the murky truth behind the work they’ve been doing at a seedy New Jersey call center – persuading people to give money to charities – and vow to expose the crooked American telemarketing industry from within. As amateur sleuths looking to shine a light on the billion-dollar scam, with raucous insider access, raw eyewitness footage, and a comedic cast of call center characters, the film is a madcap story of an unruly, low-wage environment and two long-time office buddies who find themselves hot on the trail of a sobering look at the dark side of American capitalism and the misuse of consumer trust. When Sam Lipman-Stern began a telemarketing job in New Jersey in the early 2000s as a 14-year-old high school dropout, he believed he was raising money for police and firefighter charities, unaware that most of the money was ending up in the pockets of his crooked employer