As part of the 2011 Little Rock Film Festival, the Clinton School will host screenings and discussions of four documentary films:
Fambul Tok
Director: Sara Terry
Producer: Rory Kennedy / Executive Producer: Libby Hoffman
Friday, June 3, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
– After the failure of the international community’s post-conflict efforts to address peace after Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war, the citizens of the country have revived their ancient practice of fambul tok (family talk). Rejecting Western notions of prosecution and punishment, they are gathering in conversation around the village bonfire, bringing victims and offenders together in traditional ceremonies of truth-telling and forgiveness. Fambul Tok invites viewers alongside the ordinary people of Sierra Leone as they do the extraordinary work of coming to terms with the grim realities of their civil war.
The Reconstruction of Asa Carter
Director: Marco Ricci
Producer: Douglas Newman
Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
– The Reconstruction of Asa Carter explores the life and legacy of the bestselling author of “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and “The Education of Little Tree.” Published in 1976, “Little Tree,” billed as a “true story,” recounts the idyllic life of an orphaned Native American boy learning the Way of the Cherokee from his grandparents in the hills of Tennessee. The book was met with great critical acclaim and was lauded for its authentic portrayal of the American Indian experience. It was also credited with being the seminal work of Native American literature. It later turned out, however, that the book was not only a complete fabrication, but it was authored by a notorious white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan leader, Asa Earl Carter, who penned George Wallace’s infamous 1963 “Segregation now! Segregation forever!” speech.
Hot Coffee
Director: Susan Saladoff
Producer: Carly Hugo, Alan Oxman and Susan Saladoff
Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
– It has been 15 years since the infamous McDonald’s coffee case. It is routinely cited as an example of how citizens have taken advantage of America’s legal system, but is that a fair rendition of the facts? Hot Coffee reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end.
Damn!
Director: Aaron Fisher -Cohen
Producer: Kristian Almgren / Co-Producer: Sam Nalband
Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
– Damn! is the story of Jimmy McMillan, who founded the Rent is 2 Damn High Party in New York. A Vietnam veteran, black belt Karate master, private investigator and 70’s soul singer, McMillan became an overnight sensation after his appearance in the 2010 New York gubernatorial debate caught viral success on YouTube, receiving over 2 million views in the 24 hours. Damn! is a sometimes funny and sometimes dark firsthand look at what happens when fame, politics, media and money get twisted into one entity.
*Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu, or calling 501-683-5239. You do not need a film festival pass to attend these screenings.