What an amazing experience. The first night of the Liberty Film Festival was terrific, and showcased two veteran conservative filmakers and two newer voices.

One has to describe the evening in reverse order, I think, and start with Lionel Chetwynd, who has been laboring in the vineyards since the mid-70s. His credits include Hanoi Hilton, which he directed and wrote, as well as Ruby Ridge: An American Tragedy, and DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (he also produced this one). Most recently he wrote Ike: Countdown to D-Day, which starred Tom Selleck (and also gave Chetwynd a producer credit). In short, he's the most successful writer/director/producer on the right side of Hollywood today.

This project was different, though. He was asked by Citizens United to create something that would serve as a response to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, and counter the lies and distortions therein. And he and his team put this amazing documentary, Celsius 41.11, together in a matter of six weeks. It's an astonishing achievement.

The house was packed for this segment (it had only been 3/4 full for the first "event," as they are calling the sections), and Chetwynd got a standing O at the end. He and his colleagues on the film answered questions, and it's a testament to the film's power that a lot of people were simply concerned with seeing this film get wider distribution. They are attempting to get a theatrical release going in the next few days—probably bypassing the distribution companies—and therefore if you have any spare cash in your pocket you might want to send it to Citizens United, which is doing excellent work. Celsius 41.11 does two things: it counters the common misconceptions about George W. Bush with factual material, and it discusses John Kerry's background in terms of how his philosophies may conflict with the duties of a wartime President. What it doesn't do is call him a traitor or tarnish his patriotism. ("If you are here looking for red meat," Chetwynd warned, "you're in the wrong place." People liked it fine, though, and they understood that its intent was not to "preach to the choir.")

In the Face of Evil was also a documentary, but it was a longer, more thoughtful, and really meditative piece on the struggle between good and evil in the last century and the miracle of Ronald Reagan's life and victories. Steve Bannon draws a straight line between totalitarian communism and naziism, which I buy, and between those two and Islamo-Fascism, which I'm not as certain about. But he certainly chronicles the Third World War (the Cold War) and discusses how Reagan won it. The film ends with the start of the Fourth World War (the one we are in now), and essentially leaves us with the question of whether we will face the challenges of this century as well as men like Churchill, FDR and Reagan faced those of the last. There are images from World War I, and a lovely history of Reagan's film career is included—without glossing over how his showdown with union thugs during "the battle of Burbank" informed his feelings about Communists for the rest of his life.

The evening wouldn't have been complete without the charming shorts that showcased the talents of a few bright young—and funny—indie filmmakers. Greg Wolfe's company, Career Suicide Productions, gave us Greg Wolfe: Republican Jew, which is discussed here. And Evan Maloney, the prolific young guy behind Brain-Terminal.com, had a hilarious take on The Clinton Legacy. (The link will take you to the Clinton mini-doc, but there are scads more on Brain-Terminal.com. Browse around.)

And now, it's time for bed. More tomorrow, which is the big day (it'll culminate with the world premiere of Larry Elder's first foray into film, an answer to He Who Must Not Be Named's Bowling for Columbine). Can't wait.

Posted by: Attila at 02:55 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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