American Autumn, an OccuDoc worth watching

 Occupy arts, Opinion, Videography  1 Response »
Aug 302012
 

Tired of the frighteningly superficial noise out there? Here’s “American Autumn,” an enthralling and sometimes heartbreaking documentary about the birth of Occupy Wall Street and the critical issues that drive the Occupy movement today. It’s a blunt and thorough reminder that corporate interests rank far higher than those of the people: foreclosure evictions when there are more empty homes than people who need them; people suffering and dying for lack of health care; bankruptcy law that protects banks by banning debt relief for student loans; fracking for oil and natural gas, which cracks the earth and poisons air and water with methane; and much more.

,A disproportionate militarized police force guarded this week’s national Republican convention in Florida, protecting the choreographed political pageant from non-violent protesters using Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. Too many reporters repeated Orwellian lies instead of (easily) debunking them. It’s almost Occupy Wall Street’s first anniversary. The timing is perfect.

Written, produced and directed by OWS activist, documentary maker, and No Cure For That Productions founder Dennis Trainor Jr.

” … we now have a film of our own. This is not amateur hour.  This is a movie as well made, in technical terms, as any Hollywood blockbuster with Pentagon funding.  But this is a movie with us in it.  I don’t mean our little group of activist friends.  I mean us, the people of this country, our stories, our hardships, our triumphs, our injustices, our tragedies, our humor.  This is radically different from what you’ll see at your local movie theater”.   - David Swanson, MichaelMoore.com

Update Dec. 17, 2012: This film also is available at http://www.occudoc.org for whatever you choose to pay for it, starting at $1.

“American Autumn” has been shown at art theaters and selected to appear in at least eight 2012 film festivals: New Filmmakers 2012, New York; Twin Cities Film Fest; Unspoken Human Rights Festival; Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival; Louisville’s International Festival of Film; Orlando Film Festival; Montana Cine International Film Festival; New Hampshire Film Festival.

– Janet Braunstein

Occupy This Album! Rocking the revolution

 News, Occupy arts  No Responses »
Jun 012012
 

The soundtrack for the Occupy movement includes Michael Moore singing Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ (not bad, actually). In fact, “Occupy This Album: A compilation of music by, for, and inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement and the 99%” spans the musical spectrum: ’60s folk music, indie rock, electronica, and hip-hop. 

Among the musicians who contributed the collection’s 99 songs are Ani DiFranco, Debbie Harry, Thievery Corporation, The Guthrie Family, Jackson Browne, Loudon Wainwright III, Girls Against Boys, Yo La Tengo, and Yoko Ono. David Crosby and Graham Nash team up; so do James McMurtry, Joan Baez, and Steve Earle with the strong and very current We Can’t Make it Here Anymore.

It opens with Something’s Got to Give by singer-songwriter Matt Pless. Three days after Occupy Wall Street moved into Zuccotti Park, album producer Jason Samel met Pless, who was playing guitar and harmonica.

Samel says that Pless inspired him to start asking other musicians to appear on an Occupy album. He created the Music For Occupy record label; its success in recruiting musicians far surpassed his initial vision of a showcase for little-known artists. Originally planned for completion late this year, Occupy This Album went on sale in mid-May.

Listen to a few tracks, including Something’s Got to Give.

“Occupy This Album” comes in two 99-song, downloadable digital versions; a third option, a physical 4-CD, set contains 78 songs. All three cost $9.99; proceeds from all sales go to supporting the Occupy movement. Add a Restoring Your Voice Through Music T-shirt to your order and get both for $20.