It was Condoleezza Rice who
ordered the CIA to use torture techniques including genital mutilation,
fingernail extraction and electrocution in countries across the world. This is the chilling accusation made by documentarian Sebastian Doggart in his new film, American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi.
The Denver Film Festival has secured what is sure to be the controversial, but never-the-less, must-see world premiere screening of the film scheduled for this weekend. Tickets here.
This film is Doggart's follow-up to his critically acclaimed (and first-ever musical docu-tragi-comedy) 'Courting Condi'. His scathing portrayals of Rice focus largely on the human rights consequences of Bush administration policies, responsibility for which, Doggarts' films lay at the feet of the former Secretary of State.
"Prosecutor John Durham is
investigating the wrong people,” says filmmaker Sebastian Doggart. “The CIA
agents who carried out these interrogations were acting under orders which came
directly from the chair of the Group of Principals, Condoleezza Rice. Under the
principle of command responsibility, she is accountable.”
A rough-cut of the film was screened at Stanford just before Secretary Rice returned to a position there. At least one reviewer of the film at that screening is as rough on Doggart as Doggart is on Rice.
To say that the film was unfavorable towards Rice would be a gross understatement. It is truly an attempt at character assassination.
A life-long human rights advocate, Doggart certainly has an ax to grind, but does he go too far? Are his accusations well-founded? The only thing that is certain is that in a city of mixed political persuasions like Denver, this one will be controversial.
The legacy of Condeleezza Rice and the Bush Administration is still to fresh for the benefit of historical perspective, but as the Obama Administration fights to close GITMO, find its footing in Afghanistan, and halt the use of 'enhanced interrogation' techniques, many of their policies continue to dominate the national scene.
American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi offers a no-holds-barred perspective on how we got to where we are - and who is responsible.
The film is scheduled to screen at the King Center on Friday, Nov 21st, at 4:00 PM, and at the Starz FilmCenter on Saturday Nov, 22nd at 2:15 PM. Tickets are available at the Denver Film Festival website.