The occasion for both, as readers well know, is author Rachel Ehrenfeld's struggle to defend her First Amendment rights in the face of a foreign libel judgment brought against her for exposing the financial networks that underwrite terrorism. That struggle was marvelously documented by MPI fellow Jared Lapidus in his short film, The Libel Tourist, which played a role in inspiring both pieces of legislation, and which is currently being recommended by the AAP in its emails regarding the proposed federal law.
A couple of years ago, MPI awarded a grant to former Barbara Boxer staffer Myrna Sokoloff to work on a script for a film lampooning the excesses of post-9/11 American political culture. Now that script has been transformed into a major motion picture. Based on the Dickens tale, An American Carol is directed by MPI Creative Council member and award-winning director David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun); it stars Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, Leslie Nielsen, and a host of other familiar faces. An American Carol will be released nationwide on October 3.
Don't miss 2081, MPI fellow Chandler Tuttle's magisterial adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron." Starring James Cosmo (Braveheart), Julie Hagerty (Airplane!), and Armie Hammer (Justice League: Mortal), with an original score performed by the world-famous Kronos Quartet (Requiem for a Dream), this short film is a visual feast and a major philosophical statement about freedom.
Learn about the film, and sign up for information about screenings, at finallyequal.com.
Last fall, MPI fellow Jared Lapidus released a short film that informed the world about libel tourism--and made particularly strong points about how Britain's plaintiff-friendly libel laws were being exploited by those who wish to suppress the free exchange of information and ideas about terrorism. Since then, New York State has passed a law reaffirming the First Amendment rights of New York authors--no matter where their work is published. An analogous federal bill has followed.
Now the United Nations is paying attention, too. The Guardian has the details:
Britain's libel laws have come under attack from the United Nations committee on human rights for discouraging coverage of matters of major public interest. The use of the Official Secrets Act to deter government employees from raising important issues has also been criticised.
The intervention by the UN comes in the wake of international disquiet over the use of British courts for "libel tourism", whereby wealthy plaintiffs can sue in the high court in London over articles that would not warrant an action in their own country.
The criticisms are made as part of the committee's concluding observations on the report submitted by the UK on civil and political rights. UN member states are required to submit reports on human rights in their jurisdictions every three years.
The committee warns that the British libel laws have "served to discourage critical media reporting on matters of serious public interest, adversely affecting the ability of scholars and journalists to publish their work, including through the phenomenon known as libel tourism".
[...]
The committee's report highlights the grey area created by the internet whereby alleged libel can be read in different countries. There is a risk, warns the committee, that restrictive libel laws could affect legitimate international discussion, contrary to article 19 of the covenant on civil and political rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech "regardless of borders".
The UK government has been urged to consider "a so-called 'public figure' exception" that would require a would-be claimant to prove actual malice by a publisher or author.
This would apply in cases involving public officials and prominent public figures, as currently exists in the US, where a public figure can only sue for libel if he or she can demonstrate malice, recklessness or indifference to the truth and that the statement is false.
Read the whole thing -- and check out Lapidus' film, The Libel Tourist.
Check out the trailer for MPI fellow Myrna Sokoloff's new film, An American Carol.
Directed, co-written, and co-produced by MPI Creative Council member David Zucker (Airplane!, Naked Gun), this devilishly funny spoof of anti-Americanism will be in theaters nationwide on October 3.
Most indie films don't get picked up by major distributors. And for most, that spells the end of the film's run. After a few appearances at film festivals, that's it. If a given film is lucky, it might become a DVD--but not always. It can be a devastating finish to the years of effort and commitment and hope that go into filmmaking.
But there are ways around it, as MPI well knows. We've been cited by The Economist, National Review Online, and others for our innovative approach to bringing important freedom-oriented films to wide audiences--entirely without the help of Hollywood or the financial support of distributors.
Now the New York Times is taking up the subject of self-distribution, as it is coming to be called -- and mentions The Singing Revolution as one of self-distribution's great success stories.
You've read a lot about The Singing Revolution here and in other MPI publications. And the word is really getting around about this film. Since it premiered in Los Angeles last fall, it has screened in over one hundred cities across North America -- and audiences love it so much that it is still going strong.
A 3-disc educational DVD will also be available in September. Watch our site for details.
MPI Creative Council member David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun) appeared on Hannity & Colmes last night to talk about his new film, An American Carol. Read the transcript, and check out the video. Written with seed money from MPI, this gutsy spoof of post-9/11 political piety in America is slated for nationwide theatrical release on October 3.
Check out the new Atlas TV network. Notice how important film is becoming to freedom-centered endeavors, and how important MPI films are to Atlas' effort to foreground these. Trailers for 2081, Hammer & Tickle, Mine Your Own Business, and The Singing Revolution are all there, as is Stuart Browning's A Short Course in Brain Surgery.
MPI is blazing a new and important trail--more and more people are beginning to figure out that if you want to change the culture, you have to make movies. And if you care about freedom, you have to commit that concern to film.
