‘Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks’ Debuts on HBO
I have been moved, inspired, and touched by documentaries before. “Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks” is the first documentary ever to bring me to tears
Anthem Film Festival: Three Short Film Jewels About Dreams, Trauma, and Mules
(First published on blogcritics.org) Three short films at the Anthem Film Festival, part of FreedomFest, billed as the world’s largest gathering of free minds, July 13-16, in Las Vegas, deserve special mention. All less than fifteen minutes long, they each shed light on what it means to be an individual and how we experience the […]
Anthem Film Festival: ‘Deep Web’ Explores Silk Road, Looking for the Dread Pirate Roberts
Ross Ulbricht received two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years. He must have done something terrible, right? The film Deep Web, which explores his crime, capture and prosecution screened at the libertarian themed Anthem Film Festival, part of FreedomFest, July 13-16 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Anthem Film Festival: Lenny Bruce, Gilbert Gottfried, and Penn Jillette vs. The Outrage Mob
In the 1960s, cops arrested Lenny Bruce for word crimes, but today the policed have become the police.
Anthem Film Festival: Do Right-Wingers Have a Sense of Humor?
Do right-wingers (meaning conservatives, libertarians and anyone who would not be caught dead wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt) have a sense of humor? You might not think so, if your main sources of news have been John Stewart and Lena Dunham piped into your safe space on a politically correct campus. I have, however, seen right-wing humor in the wild, often at previous iterations of the Anthem Film Festival, and I have laughed and survived.
Anthem Film Fest: County Charges Farmer $15,000 for Hosting a Birthday Party
Eight little girls at a birthday party on their neighbor’s farm; what could be more innocent than that?
Anthem Film Fest: Help Me, Obi Penn Jillette – You’re My Only Hope
Producer Ted Balaker said, “There has always been outrage, but now with technology, we can supercharge outrage.”
Anthem FilmFest: Plato, Revolting, and Mendocino – All in a Cave
Ancient Greek philosopher Plato put in a couple of appearances at the Anthem Film Festival in Las Vegas, July 8-11. Two of the short films showed influence, if not direct inspiration, by Plato’s tale of the cave, written 2,500 years ago. The films, ‘The Cage’ and ‘Helio’ both deserve praise for supporting the human quest for freedom and individualism. Cinematically, ‘Helio’ was a winner and ‘The Cage’ was not.
Interview: Jo Ann Skousen, Anthem Film Festival Founder
Chatting with Jo Ann Skousen, founder of the Anthem Film Festival, a venue for filmmakers who care about individuality and libertarian ideals
CITIZENFOUR
Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall when history was made? CITIZENFOUR gives you that opportunity. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Laura Poitras has created a truly unique documentary in her film about Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) employee who felt morally obligated to expose surveillance being done on Americans. The film is special in several ways: how it came about, its structure, and its subject.
Anthem Film Fest: Countryside vs. City – Two Wars
An attack on Vietnam veterans – I suddenly felt like I was back at UCLA in 1971. Beyond Courage: Surviving Vietnam as a POW brought back questions, controversies, and anger from a war which was the model for the Chinese Communist vision of the peasants in the countryside rising up and overcoming the city. Empire State Divide brought viewers into the world of today and a war by the city on the countryside.
Anthem Film Fest: ‘Cough’ – A Must-Watch for Filmmakers
This is an amazing 11 minutes of film. In the space within which most films are still on the titles, Australian Writer/Director Jason Kempnich gives us a “save the cat” moment, a character flaw (despair), an inciting incident, a character arc, conflict and a resolution. And the special effects are good, too. I saw Cough at the Anthem […]
Anthem Film Fest – ‘America: Imagine the World Without Her’
It is a rare experience to have a documentary film move you emotionally as narrative films often do. New York Times bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza’s defense of America did just that.
Anthem Film Festival – Yes, the NSA is Listening
If you thought Edward Snowden was the first NSA whistle blower, you need to see this film.
Dallas Buyers Club
(First published on blogcritics.org) Opening night of the 2013 Film Independent (FIND) Forum, a three-day intensive on filmmaking at the Directors Guild on Sunset Boulevard, featured a preview of Dallas Buyers Club and a question and answer session with its producers, Robbie Brenner (Escape Plan, Immortals) andRachel Winter (Brooklyn Rules, The Lather Effect). Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Jered Leto,Dallas Buyers […]
Anthem Film Fest: Two for the Culture
(First published on blogcritics.org) There no shortage of either documentaries or polemics at the Anthem Film Festival, and they serve their role to advance the cause of Libertarian thought. But, and I heard this message last year and even more this year, before you can have an impact on the political system, you must change […]
‘Atlas Shrugged Part 1’ – The 40-Year Wait is Over
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) Producer John Aglialoro obtained the rights to Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged 18 years ago. Several attempts to move forward with the film failed. In April 2010, he called Harmon Kaslow and told him he had three months to start filming or the rights world revert to Ayn Rand’s literary estate. By June, the […]
