About Eric Merola

A documentarian and artist living and working in Los Angeles

About the director/producer: Eric Merola

Eric Merola is an internationally award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. During the first decade of Merola’s career he had investigated various stories within the realm of innovative medical science. Merola’s first documentary, Burzynski, had been viewed by millions and had garnered numerous international awards, including the national and city awards for “Best Documentary” at HumanDoc in Warsaw. Burzynski also won “Best Documentary” on America’s The Documentary Channel, and was later distributed on Netflix worldwide. Merola’s other films include The God Cells: A Fetal Stem Cell Journey and Second Opinion: Laetrile at Sloan-Kettering. In 2020, Eric Merola has signed a Hollywood deal to adapt his previous documentaries into a scripted dramatic series.

Scroll down for more on Eric’s previous work:

Director statement on The Andorra Hustle

THE ANDORRA HUSTLE was produced from March, 2019 to August, 2020, with on-location investigations and filming conducted in Andorra, Spain, Belgium, and the United States.

When director Eric Merola began this investigation he was unaware of the depth of the story and how it related to Madrid’s covert war with Catalonia. Merola’s original interest was of simple curiosity in how the US Treasury has the power to effectively close any bank of its choosing, anywhere in the world, by simply issuing a press release called a “Section 311” — with the intention of “protecting the US financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing”. 

Since the enactment of the USA Patriot Act in 2001, which gave birth to FinCEN’s “Section 311”: 26 banks in the world had a “Section 311” placed against them, including BPA, with 16 of those 26 banks having their “Section 311” notice “rescinded” or “withdrawn” shortly after, including BPA. All of these banks were tiny banks with no significant standing whatsoever in the world’s financial system. [Source]

Simultaneously, numerous large powerful banks that had been caught red-handed laundering billions for various drug cartels and terrorist groups never had a “Section 311” issued against them. These banks include HSBC (over $1 billion laundered for the Sinaloa Drug cartel, Iran terrorist groups, etc), Danske bank ($230 billion for Russian criminal groups, Iran, and North Korea); the list goes on and on.

It became apparent that FinCEN’s “Section 311” is being used for everything but “protecting the US financial system”, and is instead being used as a political weapon—like a drone missile to take out any bank of its choosing to accomplish certain political goals. The fact that 16 of the 26 banks that were destroyed by a “Section 311” since 2001 were later withdrawn, implicitly demonstrates that at least 16 of those 26 banks had no money laundering activity that FinCEN could prove, including BPA. When a “Section 311” is issued against a bank, all correspondent banks must immediately cut ties with that bank—resulting in that bank’s inability to operate—thus resulting in its closure.

Once a bank is closed due to a “Section 311”, what happens to all the money in that bank? What happens to the life saving of families and all the bank accounts of the innocent customers? This entire process sets the stage for an opportunity to co-opt everyone’s accounts and effectively and legally commit an old fashioned bank robbery. This has been apparent in the case of BPA.

Since the US Treasury’s withdrawal of its “Section 311” against BPA was the fastest in its history, and since the owners of BPA were working with American attorneys taking FinCEN to court in the United States requesting the US Treasury provide proof of money laundering at BPA, and since BPA was the only “on shore” bank in Andorra—the more this story unraveled, the more intriguing it became.

Then, once Merola dug deeper and discovered that this entire event occurred because of Spain’s war with Catalonia, and found smoking gun evidence of the political intentions behind the entire “Section 311” against BPA…  Merola concluded, “this needs to be a documentary!”


Documentaries
WHY:

Because truth is far more creative than fiction. 

How:

I am an independent and self-financed investigative journalist and documentarian.

FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER

Previous work:

The God Cells:
A Fetal Stem Cell Journey

Eric Merola spent four years investigating fetal stem cell therapy, for his documentary, The God Cells: A Fetal Stem Cell Journey. Merola continues to follow new patients who seek fetal stem cell treatment and share their stories. Merola feels that fetal stem cells could be the most disruptive technology he’s discovered in the medical research space, potentially replacing nearly every pharmaceutical medication on the market.

Watch: Amazon Prime
Watch: YouTube
VISIT: WEBSITE

Second Opinion:
Laetrile At Sloan-Kettering

  • The story of a young science-writer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who risked everything by blowing the whistle on a massive cover-up involving a promising cancer therapy.

    SYNOPSIS
  • “Though a documentary,
    it’s dramatic enough to be reminiscent of ‘The Insider’,
    the whistleblowing thriller about Big Tobacco.”

    New York Daily News
  • “Mr. Moss’s message is clear,
    shrewdly edited and
    peculiarly interesting.”

    New York Times
Watch: Amazon Prime
VISIT: WEBSITE
Watch: YouTube

Burzynski:
Cancer Is Serious Business

  • SYNOPSIS: PART I

    The story of a pioneering medical doctor and PhD biochemist who has discovered a unique and proprietary method of treating most cancers. This documentary takes the audience through the treacherous, yet victorious, near 50-year journey both Dr. Burzynski and his patients have had to endure in order to obtain FDA-approved clinical trials of Antineoplastons. Defying the face of skepticism, legal attacks from state and federal agencies, and a powerful propaganda campaign to stop Burzynski.

  • SYNOPSIS: PART II

    In the compelling follow-up to the internationally award-winning documentary, Burzynski; Burzynski: Cancer is Serious Business, Part II explores the current status of a controversial cancer therapy called Antineoplastons and this experimental medicineʼs clinical testing sanctioned by the United States Food & Drug Administration. This documentary also features a modern story of the turbulent journeys of cancer patients being treated today at the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, Texas.

  • Burzynski charts how a Texas medical doctor and biochemist developed Antineoplastons … and with them began to treat a wide range of cancers … with remarkable and continuing success only to bring down the full force of the medical establishment, which has laid assault to him in the most  stupefying, devious and costly manner.”

    Los Angeles Times
  • ” … a dramatic expose of the FDA and its incestuous relationship
    with Big Pharma as it seeks to first discredit, then co-opt Burzynski’s discovery.”

    Variety
Amazon
Watch: YouTube
VISIT: WEBSITE

Original Paintings

When not working on a documentary full-time, I enjoy painting. 

VISIT: ERICMEROLA.GALLERY
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
18th street studio residency

Animation

I haven’t taken on a client for animation work in quite some time, but my animation and motion graphics skills have been an asset when making my documentaries.

VISIT: WEBSITE
VIMEO CHANNEL

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ABOUT

The Andorra Hustle will be released September, 4, 2020 on Amazon Prime Video In English and Spanish — with English, Spanish, and Catalan versions released on YouTube worldwide.

CONTACT
  • info@andorrahustle.com
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