The East is a 2013 thriller film directed by Zal Batmanglij and starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, and Elliot Page[a].

Writers Batmanglij and Marling spent two months in 2009 practicing freeganism and co-wrote a screenplay inspired by their experiences and drawing on thrillers from the 1970s.

The American studio Fox Searchlight Pictures had bought rights to distribute Batmanglij's previous film Sound of My Voice and also collaborated with the director to produce The East.

Jane, an operative for private intelligence firm Hiller Brood, is assigned by her boss, Sharon, to infiltrate The East, an underground activist, anarchist and environmentalist organization that has launched a vandalistic attack against a corporate leader and threatens two more as retribution for ecological crimes.

Having copied the list onto her cell phone's memory card, Sarah runs into Sharon and confronts her about the firm's activities, revealing her new allegiances.

As Hiller Brood had been sharing information with the FBI, The East's hideout is raided and Doc is arrested but sacrifices himself to ensure that the remaining members can escape.

The film ends with an epilogue of her contacting her undercover former coworkers and informing them of the corporate crimes Hiller Brood's clients want to protect, peacefully furthering The East's goals.

[4] They spent two months in 2009 with proponents of freeganism, which is a practice of eating "discarded food in their pursuit of a moneyless existence".

He said they considered focusing on banks due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008, but they chose the pharmaceutical industry so the mission in the film would have emotional resonance.

So, it's funny that this word means two things, and I thought that was an interesting name for a resistance group that is combined of kids from New England who want to make themselves the Other.

"[7] Sound of My Voice, directed by Batmanglij and starring Marling, screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January.

[3] After the festival, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights for Sound of My Voice and Another Earth (also starring Marling).

[5] Production designer Alex DiGerlando converted an alternative lifestyle club in Shreveport into a house for The East.

[2] Indiewire reported, "That's a strong number in general and also a big step up from Batmanglij and Marling's previous collaboration.

[7] Variety's Justin Chang reviewed the film, "This clever, involving spy drama builds to a terrific level of intrigue before losing some steam in its second half."

He noted that, "the appreciable growth in filmmaking confidence here should translate into a fine return on Fox Searchlight's investment".

[11] John DeFore, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, described The East as "a social-conscience espionage film that has actually thought about its 'eco-terrorism' themes beyond figuring out how to mine them for suspense".

He said, "Batmanglij balances emotional tension with practical danger nicely, a must in a story whose activist protagonists can make no distinction between the personal and the political.

"[24] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave The East 5 stars and highlighted it as a Sundance standout.

[25] Logan Hill, reviewing for indieWire, said, "Fast-paced and energetic, The East hits a beat and hurries along to the next Jam.

Hill commended the cast and said of the direction, "Batmanglij has a particular talent for capturing that unmoored, twentysomething search for meaning, and the tight-knit allure of a group that offers a reason for living.

It gave the film a score of 74% and summarized the critical consensus, "Tense, thoughtful, and deftly paced, The East is a political thriller that never loses sight of the human element.