Q&A with Mandy Jacobson and subject Jean-Yves Ollivier

A fascinating account of off-the-books diplomacy in the 1980s, Plot for Peace is that rare documentary that both augments the historical record and is paced like a thriller. The film tells the little-known tale of Jean-Yves Ollivier, a French commodities trader who made his fortune doing business, he says, in “difficult countries”—including the internationally shunned South Africa. In 1981, he concluded that apartheid was unsustainable and began to use his contacts to help make sure its end came peacefully.