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A full house of DC pols, press, patriots and representatives from half the city’s think tanks and policy forums came out for the DC premiere of Impact Arts + Film Fund & IFC's IN THE LOOP screening and reception. The film rightfully draws “instant comparisons to some of the great political and absurdist comedies such as DOCTOR STRANGELOVE, WAG THE DOG, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and MONTY PYTHON. With razor-sharp, truly laugh-out-loud dialogue the film pokes fun at the absurdity and ineptitude of our highest leaders. With everyone looking out for number one, and the fate of the free world at stake (but apparently incidental), the hilarious ensemble cast of characters bumbles its way through Machiavellian political dealings, across continents, and toward comic resolutions that are unforeseeable.”  

Of the many staffers, members and former members in the audience: Rep. Lynn Woolsey and her Chief of staff Nora Matus; former Rep. Karen Thurman; Senator Chuck Schumer staffer Stacy Ettinger; Joel Segal, Legislative Asst. to Rep. John Conyers; and Senator Kay Hagan’s State Director Muthoni Wambu.

Director-writer Armando Iannucci, star David Rasche and several of the films co-writers including Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, and David Grier, attended the event for a post screening discussion and reception.  As expected, the DC crowd more than most responded to characters and scenarios that they have been living or watching unfold for the past seven years from inside the beltway.  What made this an Impact movie was two-fold:  The film reveals the perils of linguistic imprecision in politics and diplomacy, and how easily meaning can be manipulated.  Secondly, anyone who has been a staffer, congressional intern or worked in politics is haunted by their own "Malcolm Tuckers", bullying, swearing, sometimes just mean bosses or colleagues.  Or conversely, bumbling elected and appointed "leaders" who couldn't survive without their aids.  We’ve also seen the young interns taking up squash, or now-a-days basketball, just in case that coveted opportunity to play with the big guy finally happens.  During the Q&A Conyers aid Segal noted the factual accuracy of Armando and his team’s fictional rendering of Washington.  Armando says he continues to be asked by policy-makers “how did you find that out? Who told you? We never told anyone.” to things he invented.  Rasche, who plays a David Addington/Donald Rumsfeld-type character at State, said he prepared for the role for years, simply by watching CNN, MSNBC and FOX; whereas James Gandolfini, spent a couple days at the Pentagon to learn how to walk, talk and swear like a four star anti-war general.  The inevitable comparisons between Malcolm Tucker’s swearing communications pro and DC’s own foul-mouthed Rahm Emanuel also emerged in the post screening discussion.

But ‘splaining, (to repeat the unfortunate word choice of Senator Coburn in the other political theatre taking place this week in the Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination hearings) will never do this film justice.  You must see it when it opens theatrically across the US on July 24^th, here in DC at the E Street Theater.  Trailer and good tidbits here: http://tinyurl.com/cqa9j9

The Impact Arts & Film fund was recently honored as one of a select group invited to attend THE GOOD PITCH at the 2009 SILVERDOCS Festival, a forum designed to bring together the media makers and NGOs to harness the power of documentary to initiate global change.  In association with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, eight film projects that tackle important global and national issues were presented to a group of experts from over 95 charities, foundations, advertising agencies, and public and commercial media interests.  Here at IA&FF, we are looking forward to finding ways to promote some of these extraordinary projects.

 IndieWire remarked that as THE GOOD PITCH came “roaring into Silver Spring with a vengeance,” there were  “some wonderful surprises of synergy, and moments that crystallized partnerships and opened eyes to the new memes of strategic partnership for documentaries”.  The event travelled to DC from Hot DOCS, where Cara Mertes, director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, said, “The Good Pitch is a new evolution in the pitch forum format,” and Still in Motion “noted that “emphasis of The Good Pitch is not on ‘advocacy,’ so much as on global social transformation”.    SILVERDOCSartistic director, Sky Sitney, echoed this sentiment, saying, “It is a perfect fit with our ethos of celebrating excellence in cinema, supporting a diverse range of voices and storytelling, and fostering the power of documentary to enhance our understanding of the world”.

The eight inspiring finalists that presented at SILVERDOCS, “one of the most prestigious film events devoted to the non-fiction form,” according toFest21, were selected from a pool of over 300 applicants.  The film projects ranged widely in topic, incorporating issues reaching from environmental sustainability to non-violent resistance in the Middle East.  They included the following, as described by Cineuropea.org:

BUDRUS HAS A HAMMER/Dir. Julia Bacha

A Palestinian community organizer unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in a Gandhian struggle to save his village, unleashing a non-violent movement - with women on the front lines - that is still gaining ground today.

CAPE WIND: THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF POWER IN AMERICA/Dir. Robbie Gemmel

CAPE WIND illuminates the divisive controversy surrounding the Cape Wind Project – a proposal to build 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod – translating the furor which exploded on the Cape Cod community into a story of transcendent national importance for the future of sustainability in America.

ETHIOPIA’S EXCHANGE/Dir. Hugo Berkeley

ETHIOPIA’S EXCHANGE tells the story of a woman on a mission - and a world of trouble standing in her way. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a charismatic Ethiopian economist, wants to end hunger in her famine-plagued country. She designed the nation's first commodities exchange, which she hopes will revolutionize an age-old market system.

GREEN SHALL OVERCOME/Dir. Megan Gelstein

GREEN SHALL OVERCOME takes an in-depth look at the green-collar job movement through the lens of Van Jones, an African-American civil-rights lawyer. Jones envisions the new green economy as a pathway out of poverty for low-income Americans while simultaneously solving challenges of environmental destruction. After years of advocating for change, Jones is recruited by the Obama Administration and appointed Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation by the White House Council on Environment Quality.

HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE/Dir. Stephen T. Maing

HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE is about one of China's first citizen reporters and the achievements of a fearless new digital youth generation. The film follows the evolution of a young vegetable seller from blogger to internet celebrity as he reports on sensitive news stories in China.

HUNGRY IN AMERICA/Dirs. Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush

HUNGRY IN AMERICA will investigate why nearly 38 million Americans - including 14 million children - go hungry here, in one of the richest nations on earth.

OUT IN THE SILENCE/Dir. Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer

Out in the Silence uses the story of a small American town confronting the firestorm of controversy ignited by a same-sex wedding announcement to illustrate the challenge of being an outsider in a conservative environment and catalyze new ways of making resources and support available for those working for change.

SPLIT ESTATE/Dir. Debra Anderson

SPLIT ESTATE follows an unfolding conflict in the Rocky Mountains. With cries from Washington for more domestic gas and oil production, the citizens of Colorado and New Mexico find themselves in the path of an unstoppable rush to drill that is destroying their health, their homes, and their communities.

Out of a rousing series of fast-paced pitches, each lasting a mere seven minutes, came on-the-spot financing, next-day TV broadcast offers, as well as NGO, non-profit, and media platform partnerships.  One high-profile alliance was forged between Art Stevens, relationship manager at the Calvert Foundation, who offered a contribution of $10,000 to filmmakers Megan Gelstein and Rick Butler, the makers of GREEN SHALL OVERCOME.  Other notable partnerships included a broadcast offer from Planet Green for Debra Anderson’s SPLIT ESTATE.  Additionally, Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson’s MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN, one of the films pitched at last years BRITDOC’s Big Pitch last year, earned the SILVERDOCS’ World Feature Award, along with $10,000.

The Impact Arts & Film Fund was delighted to be included in the GOOD PITCH’s first venture into the North American film community and will continue to pursue partnerships with these and other social action films.  Congratulations to SILVERDOCS, the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, and Sandi DuBowski for their masterful stewardship of the event.  From SILVERDOCS, THE GOOD PITCH will go first to London, September 7^th-8^th, and then on to the Independent Film Week in New York City on September 24^th.

We'll continue to update and these projects make their way to completion, and out into the world.