Forerunner Film Festival Recommended Films

U.S.A., 2008, 85 mins, Color Documentary

Wake up, America! We’re on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. As the Baby Boomer generation prepares to retire, will there even be any Social Security benefits left to collect? Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions.

Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Wielding candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) helps demystify the nation’s financial practices and policies. The film follows U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he crisscrosses the country explaining America’s unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens.

With surgical precision, Creadon interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and alarming profile of America’s current economic situation. The ultimate power of I.O.U.S.A. is that the film moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how we can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations. Pointedly topical and consummately nonpartisan, I.O.U.S.A. drives home the message that the only time for America’s financial future is now.

Director(s): Patrick Creadon
Screenwriter(s): Patrick Creadon, Christine O’Malley, Addison Wiggin

http://www.agorafinancial.com/iousa.html

Tags: Documentary, Economy, Government // 1 Comment »

The documentary, broadcast on HBO throughout November & December 2006, exposes the dangers of voting machines used during America’s mid term and presidential elections. Electronic voting machines count approximately 90% of America’s votes in county, state and federal elections. The technology is also increasingly being used across the world, including in Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Latin America. Filmed over three years this exposé follows the investigations of a team of citizen activists and hackers as they take on the electronic voting industry, targeting the Diebold corporation

“Hacking Democracy” uncovers incendiary evidence from the trash cans of Texas to the ballot boxes of Ohio, exposing secrecy, votes in the trash, hackable software and election officials rigging the presidential recount.

Ultimately proving our votes can be stolen without a trace. “Hacking Democracy” culminates in the famous ‘Hursti Hack’; a duel between the Diebold voting machines and a computer hacker from Finland – with America’s democracy at stake.

“Hacking Democracy” was Executive Produced by Sarah Teale & Sian Edwards of

Teale-Edwards Productions LLC

http://www.hackingdemocracy.com/

NEWS:

Diebold Machines Miscount New Hampshire Primary

New Hampshire’s 2008 primary election used Diebold “Accu-Vote” machines to scan and count 80% of the votes. These are the same machines that were hacked by the famous Finnish hacker Harri Hursti in “Hacking Democracy”. The hand recount of New Hampshire’s paper ballots has already revealed unexplained machine miscounts in Hillsborough County, NH:

The New Hampshire statewide hand recount was begun by Democrat candidate Dennis Kucinich and Republican candidate Albert Howard amid “serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors about the integrity of Tuesday’s results”

Follow the story on Bev Harris’ BlackBoxVoting forums, and at BradBlog

Tags: Documentary, Government // 1 Comment »

Twan Huys, Director 2006, 45 min (not to be confused with the erotic book by the same name)

Somali-born author, political activist and critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali became world famous when her collaborator, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, was murdered by a radical Islamist. Hirsi Ali wrote the screenplay for Van Gogh’s “Submission”, a provocative short film critical of Muslim treatment of women. Filmmaker Twan Huys follows Hirsi Ali as she endures death threats and travels to the United States, where she takes a job at a conservative think-tank and is named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons of the world.

Fore more information about Hirsi Ali see another Forerunner Project web site : www.wisdom-radio.com (You Can Fight City Hall)

and here:

http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500315295

Tags: Documentary, Social Justice // Add Comment »

Djanta, a bright young female student, returns to her parent’s village at the behest of the pastor who raised her since she was a child. There, she is surprised to find that her family wishes to marry her to a man to whom she was betrothed as a baby. Djanta runs away from the village, returns to university and sets about to free women from traditional constraints. But is this even possible?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039893/

Tags: Drama, Social Justice, World Issues // Add Comment »

Alliance for Justice has produced a provocative short documentary entitled Quiet Revolution. Hosted by Emmy award-winning actor Bradley Whitford. The film features U.S. Senator Barack Obama and describes how an increasingly influential movement on the far right has waged a sustained war on the Constitution as we know it. Ultra-conservative politicians, judges, professors and activists would overturn decades of precedent to shred the fabric of popular laws protecting workers, consumers and public health, expand executive power at the expense of basic civil liberties, and impose a narrow social agenda on the rest of the body politic.

http://www.afj.org/for-nonprofits-foundations/resources-and-publications/free-resources/film-quiet-revolution-1.html

Tags: Documentary, Government, Social Justice, World Issues // Add Comment »

The Women of Tibet film project consists of three one-hour documentary films revealing potent historical moments of past and contemporary Tibet. The films touch on themes of women’s endurance and their struggle for freedom, social justice, peace, and human rights. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Himalayas, the Women of Tibet film trilogy shows the strength and perseverance of a people dedicated to the principles of peace, non-violence, and compassion.

http://www.womenoftibet.org/pages/index.php

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Strong Love is the story of world-class weight lifter Jon Shapiro and his childhood sweetheart Holly James, both of whom were born with Down syndrome. This documentary follows the couple over the course of three years, starting with their decision to get married. Their challenges, their triumphs, and their complex, sometimes surprising relationships with family and friends are at the heart of this inspiring film.

http://www.bonnieburt.com/movies/strong-love.html

Tags: Biography, Documentary, Government, Science and Technology // Add Comment »

Their country asked them to kill. Their hearts asked them to stop.
From West Point grads to drill sergeants, from Abu Ghraib interrogators to low ranking reservist-mechanics; soldiers in the US Army today reveal their deepest moral concerns about what they are asked to do in war.

AWARDS:
Best Documentary | Salem Film Festival (2008)
Finalist – Best Documentary | Denver Film Festival (2007)
Best Film – Conflict and Resolution Category | Hamptons International Film Festival (2007)
Best Documentary | Rhode Island International Film Festival (2007)
Best Documentary | Foyle Film Festival, Northern Ireland (2007)

See the trailer: http://www.socfilm.com/

Tags: Biography, Documentary, Social Justice // Add Comment »

Boy, what a frustrating film to watch….even though it is very good and has been a part of my collection for a number of years now. Still, it’s hard to see the good guy, the little guy, beaten up by the big guys. Here’s one story where Goliath beats David.

Anyway, this was an interesting supposedly- true-life story of how Preston Tucker got a raw deal form the Big Three car-makers of the day, and by the government after he built a much better automobile in 1948. The film details how the big boys made sure Tucker’s company never sold any of those cars.

As mentioned, it’s maddening to watch at times, to hear lies and false charges brought against a man who had the right ideas about car safety and engineering and was way ahead of his time.

The 1940s atmosphere in this film is very good and the old music is fun to hear, too. The cinematography is great, too, with some tinted vintage-type color at times. It looks wonderful on DVD.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096316/

Tags: Biography, Drama, Science and Technology // Add Comment »

A classic story of one person making a world of difference.

More details here…..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113862/

Tags: Biography, Drama // Add Comment »