Independents Night: Greensboro: Closer to the Truth Adam Zucker, US, 2007; 83m
Thursday, October 18 at 6:30 pm
Admission: $11 general public; $7 FSLC members & students. Please note: there is a $1.25 service charge per ticket ordered online and cash only transactions at the box office.
There will be a Q&A after the screening.
On Nov. 3, 1979, members of the Communist Workers Party in Greensboro, N.C., gathered for a rally with the slogan "Death to the Klan." A group of Ku Klux Klan members and American Nazis arrived on the scene but, strangely, the police did not. The Klansmen opened fire, killing five CWP members. It was huge news that day, but on Nov. 4, the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized, ABC's Nightline was launched, and the Greensboro incident was forgotten by the national media. Although there was extensive video footage of the attack, no one was ever convicted.
In Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, independent filmmaker and editor Adam Zucker explores this tragedy and reconnects with its various players 25 years later. He interviews survivors and families of the dead as well as those who attacked the protesters to chronicle how their lives have evolved. And all confront the past and struggle with the possibility of hope and redemption when the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission ever held in the U.S. is convened to investigate the massacre. Zucker plays the dramas out against the backdrop of Greensboro, a city that is both regionally progressive and racially conflicted, and in doing so, he allows us all to identify with these universal social conflicts.
Independents Night showcases New York premieres of American documentaries every other month, making it one of the city's foremost venues for non-fiction work. A Q&A and reception follow the film.
Presented in association with the Human Rights Watch
International Film Festival
Independents Night is devoted exclusively to showcasing New York premieres of American documentaries. This rich genre comes to the big screen every other month at the Walter Reade Theater, making it one of the city's foremost venues for nonfiction work. With the filmmakers in attendance, Independents Night is always a provocative evening of discovery and exploration. Come to the screening and stay for the Q&A after the film.
