Halloween

At a time when the democratic institutions we’ve trusted in and relied on -- and perhaps have taken for granted -- seem to be either crumbling or under threat, many of us may be looking for sources of hope and inspiration, those voices and stories that remind us that in the face of difficulty and darkness, there are always people among us who are willing to speak truth to power. And while the movies can offer us so many things, ranging from the most escapist fantasies to the bleakest of horror, they can also offer us the true stories of real people whose commitment to their values and to the truth shines hopefulness into the darkest of circumstances. 

This summer at the Pickford in a new mini-series, “Truth-tellers and Whistleblowers,” we are celebrating the real life truth-tellers among us, specifically, the journalists and whistleblowers who, in spite of the personal risks and in spite of fierce resistance from those in power, were doggedly determined to share important truths with the world and in so doing made history.

We’ll begin the series with Words of War (July 5), a new film starring a transcendent Maxine Peak and a terrific ensemble cast, including Jason Isaacs and Ciaran Hinds, and telling the awe-inspiring and courageous story of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian human rights activist and journalist who lost her life in her fight to tell the truth about Putin and the brutality and human rights abuses of the Chechen War.  (A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists (NY), the National Press Club Freedom Center (DC), and the International Women’s Media Foundation (DC) who honored Anna Politkovskaya in 2001 with their Courage in Journalism award.)

Finally, one of Steven Soderbergh’s best, the crowd-pleasing Erin Brockovich (Aug. 30) starring Julia Roberts and Albert Finney, tells the story of Erin Brockovich, the single mother who dared to take on the Goliath that was the Pacific Gas and Electric company for their culpability in poisoning a small town’s water.