Saturday, September 10, 2011

9/11, 24/7 -- had enough yet? TrustMovies certainly has, but not, it seems, Film Forum.

Every magazine on the newsstands, every newspaper, every news show on television has been hammering home the anniversary of the "big day" like no one had imagined this was coming. Why, what a surprise! Both New York and The New Yorker wasted an issue on the subject. Frank Rich's article in the former, at least, proved a good antidote.

Please. It is not as though we have not been reminded of 9/11/2001 almost daily over the past decade -- what with the non-stop terror alerts from the Bush administration -- who by the way, ought to by now have been taken out and hung as war criminals/profiteers. Oh, but the Obama team is now leaking their earlier fear of reprisals and a possible military coup, should a prosecution even have been undertaken. So then, there is no rule of law -- not when the highest can get away with the worst.

All the crowing about how there has not been any successful terrorist attack since 9/11 begs the question: Some large portion of the responsibility for the fact that that Twin Towers toppled can be laid at the feet of the Bush administration -- who had effectively turned off  the watchdog protection that had been in place during the Clinton years.

So what does all the above have to do with movies.  Only that Film Forum, a movie house much loved by yours truly, is devoting its entire tomorrow to free pubic screenings of the following film.  I had earlier planned to make more of this, but having by now run afoul of the 9/11, 24/7 genie, I cannot devote another minute to this "cause."  It particularly rankles because I do not believe that most of America has even processed the event itself, the underlying causes, or even the fact that by arming and encouraging the Afghan rebels to fight the Russians during that earlier, ill-advised war, we managed to help create the very thing that would later attack us on our own soil.

Oh, well: history is nothing most Americans need bother themselves with. Particularly world history.  "We're all connected"? Only, it would seem, if it's some TV commercial that is telling us so.

The single good thing I have read about terror, alerts and precautionary measures comes from a friend of mine's blog -- Ray Errol Fox. His recent post is both fascinating and oddly hopeful. Click the link above and take a few moments, if you can, to read it. Anyway, as promised, here's the info on tomorrow's Film Forum program:

TIME: VOICES OF 9/11: A New Documentary Produced by TIME Magazine; Movie Has Exclusive New York Presentation at Film Forum on September 11;
Free Screenings Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Attacks

Film Forum announces its one-day exclusive presentation of TIME: VOICES OF 9/11, the stories of men and women whose lives changed forever on September 11, 2001. These screenings will be free to the public. Tickets will be available at the box office on the day of show, on a first-come, first-served basis.


TIME: VOICES OF 9/11 will be screened throughout the day, beginning at 1pm, on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Film Forum, West Houston Street (W. of 6th Ave). Check www.filmforum.org for showtimes.


TIME: VOICES OF 9/11 (2011) Directed & Produced by Kira Pollack. Co-Director & Director of Photography: Marco Grob. Executive Producer: Rick Stengal. Editor: Karlyn Michelson. Interviewers: Kira Pollack, Kate Pickert, Paul Moakley.


Below are some of the people you'll meet (as though you didn't know Mr. Giuliani already...):


DaisyKhan.jpg-Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.
Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11. Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.

JimRiches.jpg-Jim Riches, retired FDNY Deputy Chief, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.
Jim Riches, retired FDNY Deputy Chief, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.
Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.

JosephPfeifer.jpg-Joseph Pfeifer, FDNY Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.Joseph Pfeifer, FDNY Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11. Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine

RonDiFrancesco.jpg-Ron DiFrancesco, a survivor who worked on the 84th Floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.Ron DiFrancesco, a survivor who worked on the 84th Floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.
Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.

RudyGiuliani.jpg-Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11. Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.

ValeriePlameWilson.jpg-Valerie Plame Wilson, former CIA covert operations officer, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11.  Photo credit:  Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.Valerie Plame Wilson, former CIA covert operations officer, one of the interview subjects in TIME: VOICES OF 9/11. Photo credit: Marco Grob for TIME Magazine.

The photos used in the opening paragraphs come from 

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