The provisions of the Patriot Act, implementing security and surveillance measures in the wake of 9/11, have been seen by some as an infringement on personal liberties. Supporting that case is Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe’s “(T)ERROR.’’ The first documentary to film an actual FBI counter-terrorism sting operation, it tells the story of a 63-year-old former Black Panther who — for murky reasons — agreed to work as an informer for the FBI, spying on the Muslim community. Multi-layered and full of ambiguities, exciting and moving, “(T)ERROR’’ shows cause to worry about our nation’s anti-terrorism agencies, and not just because they violate basic rights.

“(T)ERROR’’ premieres on Independent Lens on Monday at 10 p.m. on PBS.

For more information go to www.pbs.org/independentlens.

Taking down a president

In 2005, Rachel Boynton’s black comic documentary “Our Brand Is Crisis’’ showed how shifty American campaign strategists for hire rebranded disgraced Bolivian ex-president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and got him re-elected.

Last year, David Gordon Green’s “Our Brand Is Crisis,’’ a fictional adaptation of Boynton’s documentary starring Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton, used the situation as a backdrop for a screwball comedy with a subversive twist. The release of that film serendipitously coincided with that of Newton-based musician and filmmaker Oliver Castro-McClung’s video of his band’s heavy metal song “Black October.’’ It showed the aftermath of Lozada’s election: chaos and corruption with dozens of people killed by the police in anti-government riots. (We talked to Castro-McClung about the video back in November.)

The Bolivian people deposed Lozada. He fled the country and found asylum in the United States, which refused to extradite him to Bolivia, where he faced charges of genocide. Last Monday, however, the United States finally agreed to relinquish Lozada to Bolivian authorities.

Did these films have an impact on that outcome? Certainly, activists’ efforts around the world, including the work of Castro-McClung, helped. “Together, we ended up making a difference,’’ he said on Facebook. “This is a huge thing that might change US and Bolivian foreign relations.’’

To see Castro-McClung’s music video and learn more about his campaign to allow the extradition of Lozada to Bolivia, go to www.ourbrandiscrisis .org.

Campaign setbacks

Michael Moore announced his endorsement of Bernie Sanders for president just before the New Hampshire Primary on Jan. 9. His new film “Where to Invade Next?’’ came out the following Friday, perhaps timed to coincide with Sanders’s campaign. If so, things haven’t worked out as expected.

Sanders did just fine, handily winning with more than 60 percent of the vote in the Granite State. But “Where to Invade Next’’ barely hit the beaches. On the three-day Martin Luther King Day weekend, it grossed $897,034 according to The Hollywood Reporter. The per-location average of $2,912 is the lowest of any Moore film.

There were several contributing factors. Moore was supposed to take a bus tour promoting the film in all 50 states; the bus headed off, but without Moore. A grave case of pneumonia forced him to cancel all pre-opening publicity. And the newly hatched studio that is handling the film still doesn’t have a name.

Like other campaigners disappointed by their success to date, Moore hopes his fortunes rebound in the months to come.

Peter Keough can be reached at petervkeough@gmail.com.