Saturday night brought to an end, an amazing week, with over 4,000 screenings of Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers scheduled and more coming in every day from all over the country.
The amazing work of Move-on, Democracy for America, Campaign for America's Future, Amnesty International, Code Pink, Voters for Peace, Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, hundreds of groups and thousands of individuals made the week a huge grassroots success. From a screening in Santa Barbara with more then 800 people to a library in New Jersey, from a pizza parlor to a bowling alley, from military installations in Iraq to churches in Kansas. People and groups were energized and activated to use the film to expose war profiteering. And most importantly, the alternative distribution method means that after each and every screening there was a discussion focused on what people can and will do. In some cases, people started to take action immediately after watching the film. In their Call for Change screenings of Iraq for Sale Move-on members made
201,696 calls to voters. Patriotism Over Profits week was not a traditional film opening, but much more important, because people gathered, debated, argued and strategized.
How do we use the issue and the film to shine the bright spotlight on profiteers? How do we call out David Lesar of Halliburton and his l00 million in stock increases since the war began? How do we stop JP London of CACI the company that supplies interrogators for profit at Abu Ghraib and his 20 million in profits in one year?
The Patriotism Over Profits premier week has given the issue of war profiteering terrific boost and, based on the intense response, energy and downright rage, it is clear people around the country are motivated to build on the week and undertake the hard, critical, work to make change. Yes the election is here, and at the Iraq for Sale website we have the records of senators and congress people and how they voted. As true patriots we will raise hell with those elected officials who chose their own campaign collections over the protection of the American people. And Arianna will tell you about some of the terrific, imagination and important work being done by senators, congressmen and folks running for office.(Let me just say that between conference calls with Senator Kerry and Congressman Jim Clyburn, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus(listen http://iraqforsale.org/calls.php) and Senator Reid's email blast to the Give 'em Hell Harry list, we covered a lot of ground).
During the months of intense effort to tell this story the team at Brave New Films was always motivated, knowing at the end of the road, would not be a film festival, or a red carpet fancy pants screening, but that there would be thousands of people viewing, talking, planning and figuring out how to make change. And now, thanks to the thousands of "distributor-activists," people powered film is rolling out...