For nearly three years, Dan Farah filmed his new documentary, “The Age of Disclosure,” in complete secrecy.

That makes sense, considering the sensitivity of the film’s thesis: For decades, it argues, the U.S. government has been hiding from the public evidence of non-human spacecraft and intelligence. Farah shows us 34 officials who say they have firsthand knowledge of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

I had a chance to see the film, which premiered March 9 at South by Southwest at Austin’s Paramount Theater. While not without flaws, the film is a compelling, persuasive deep-dive with plenty of gob-smacking revelations.

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After the premiere, I had a chance to speak with Farah over the phone. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What sparked your desire to make a documentary on UAP sightings?

A: I’m 45 years old. My childhood was the '80s and early '90s, and I grew up watching movies like “E.T.” and “Close Encounters” over and over and over. I’m one of the millions of people around the world who would read every article and book about this, or watch every documentary.

So when I was doing research on this topic and met some very senior former intelligence officials who had worked on this for the U.S. government, who told me this is a real situation, I started to get some unique perspective on it. As a producer, I’m always looking for big stories. I felt this was — hands down — the biggest story in the history of humanity. I wanted to be a part of telling it.

Q: Why did you make Luis “Lou” Elizondo and Jay Stratton serve as both the central characters and narrators of this........

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