Starts: Saturday, Aug. 4 4:30 PM (Eastern)
Ends: Saturday, Aug. 4 6:30 PM (Eastern)
ACORN and the FIRESTORM, from the award-winning filmmakers Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard, reveals the story of Breitbart’s first victim, which fueled today’s political climate that paved the way for Trump, “fake news,” and a divided America.
Official Selection: Tribeca Film Festival, AFI.DOCS, Michael Moore’s Traverse City Festival. Winner! Montclair Film Festival, AmericaTruth Telling Jury Prize.
ACORN and the Firestorm chronicles the rise and fall of an organization that for 40 years empowered marginalized communities.
Its critics, though, believed ACORN exemplified everything wrong with liberal ideals, promoting government waste and ineffective activism. These competing perceptions exploded on the national stage in 2009, just as Barack Obama became president. Fueled by a YouTube video made by right wing undercover activist James O’Keefe, ACORN’s very existence would be challenged.
It’s a cautionary tale of what happened when a membership group of 400,000 working class men and women, white and people of color, threatened the power of a political party, the profits of large corporations and the ideology of unfettered free markets.
“ACORN and the Firestorm” takes square, belated aim at reviving the reputation of ACORN.” New York Times
“A convincing look at the scandal that sparked the Trump era.” – Indiewire
“A Must-See Movie.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Disturbingly relevant… a documentary of our age. A refreshingly clear and balanced narrative about the controversy that swept up the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now during the 2008 presidential election.” -Salon
“Infuriating. A nimble analysis of the FOX echo chamber.” – Flavorwire “… sordid tale of the takedown of this once-proud-and-successful agency… this movie is an excellent bit of documentary history and journalism.” – Hammer to Nail
FIRESTORM is inspired by John Atlas’s book, Seeds of Change. The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Anti-Poverty, Community Organizing Group.
Mike Lux is the co-founder of Democracy Partners, a consulting firm whose mission is building the progressive movement. Mike is a frequent blogger on Huffpo, DailyKos, and Crooks and Liars. He is the author of the book, “The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be.”
Mike currently serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Arca Foundation, Netroots Nation, Americans United for Change, and USAction. He also was a co-founder and a former board member of Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Progressive Majority, Women’s Voices/Women Vote, and the Center for Progressive Leadership. He played a role in the early days of launching the Center for American Progress, Air America, America’s Voice, and MoveOn.org. From January 1993 to mid-1995, Mike served as a Special Assistant to the President in the Clinton White House, and has played a leadership role on five Presidential campaigns
Other sessions: Screening: "Heather Booth: Changing the World", Race, Class, Gender and the Progressive Agenda: The Future of the Democratic Party in the Age of Trump