Total Views: 408
American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein at the 2010 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Written by Alex Hildred   
Thursday, 04 March 2010 20:45
Atlanta, GA -- Ridgen and Rossier's new haunting documentary about controversial Jewish American academic Norman Finkelstein opened at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The film has played in prominent festivals around the world including IDFA in Amsterdam and the JJFF in Jerusalem.


Featuring Alan Dershowitz, Noam Chomsky and many more..

American Radical is the probing documentary portrait of American academic and activist Norman Finkelstein. A devoted son of holocaust survivors, ardent critic of Israeli and US Mid-East policies and author of six provocative books-including The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah, Finkelstein has been at the center of many intractable controversies. Called a lunatic and a self-hating Jew by some and an inspirational, street-fighting revolutionary by others, Finkelstein is a deeply polarizing figure whose struggles arise from core questions about freedom, identity and nationhood. The film provides an intimate portrait of the man behind the controversy, giving voice to both his many critics and his supporters, while following him around the globe as he labors to change peoples' minds.

American Radical is produced and directed by accomplished documentary filmmakers David Ridgen (Mississippi Cold Case) and Nicolas Rossier (Aristide and the Endless Revolution). Say Ridgen and Rossier, "We were fascinated by the idea of fighting fire with fire. Strong offense. Eye for an eye. Polarizing forces that create understanding in their collision, like filmmaker Eisenstein's cells. That it takes a radical to tame radicalism, or perhaps to end it. Norman Finkelstein embodies this duality. For us, he is a case study for it in fact. Some important voices say he is full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Others say he is a street fighter for the downtrodden. But what is the real politick of his words and actions and existence? These are the questions we wanted to answer. The more one considers Norman and those in his realm, the more one recognizes that no radical is without sin or innocence. There is worth in being a modern firebrand, and there are great costs. And both may lie where you least expect to discover them".

Completed in the Fall of 2009, American Radical was picked up for US distribution by Typecast Releasing. Typecast Releasing will make American Radical available for broadcast, theaters, festival screenings, DVD and digital distribution in the USA.



Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
 
test1