DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
NATO was formed to oppose Soviet Russia. Now, under the control of the United States, it is the most powerful military alliance in the world. When President Obama invited NATO to come to Chicago, along with representatives of the G8, the eight wealthiest leaders of the world, I believed this would be an historic event. In the spirit of Studs Terkel, I helped organize Chicago videojournalists to get an on the ground look at what was happening in our city. For those Four Days In Chicago, Occupy was gathering 99%-ers from all around the country who oppose continuing war and the misplaced priorities called “austerity.” The President decided that the convergence of the war machine and its corporate-military ally would be too much, and would be best served by relegating G8 to the quiet, unchallenged Camp David. It was clear on day one of shooting that Mayor Rahm Emanuel would use all the police power of the city for security. That's in the film. What we could not show is the active cooperation of Homeland Security, the National Guard, the FBI and a host of paid spies and infiltrators. As long as the corporate media and Rahm Emanuel could engender fear of the faceless invaders, who were presented as disorganized, lawless interlopers who would disrupt the stability and reputation of Chicago, he and NATO would not be challenged. Local media gave big coverage to a few minor scuffles to demonstrate the superiority of “security.” Outside of the city, the country knew very little of the size and scope of the demonstrations. We videojournalists were out in the streets asking: What challenge is so threatening that it deserves this scale of response? The media wants us to believe that the 99%-ers are fringe dwellers. This film says otherwise. You will hear one man in Daley Plaza say: “What we find out is that the 99% are our sisters, our aunts, our nurses, our teachers, our construction workers. In short they are us.” I hope our little film will show there is life and hope in our beloved city. |
FOUR DAYS IN CHICAGO Participants:
JAMES FOLEY ANDY THAYER MEDEA BENJAMIN DAVID SWANSON JAN RODOLFO TOM HAYDEN BERNARDINE DOHRN AMY GOODMAN TOM MORELLO DAVID ROVICS GRAHAM CLUMPNER AARON HUGHES MATT HOWARD MAGGIE MARTIN CHRISTOPHER MAY VIJAY PRASHAD MELVIN “RICKY” MACLIN Crew: Producer SUREE TOWFIGHNIA Editor NICHOLAS GOLDING Co-Producer LESLIE KORSHAK Additional Photography SUREE TOWFIGHNIA ANDY DAVIS MIKE GRAY ETHAN BOEHME ANDREW FRIEND STEPHEN COMBS JAMES FOLEY REUBEN CRUZ RON PITTS ERIC TORRES GRETCHEN HASSE JOHN FECILE Still Photographers LARRY KAPSON BLAKE MASON ROSY TORRES Sound Recordists JOHN MASON DAN O'DONNELL Production Assistants BLAKE MASON HALEY MARTIN CHRIS BENTLEY REUBEN CRUZ MAX FITZPATRICK ASHKON HAIDARI JESSE SIOUX ACHRAMOWICZ Assistant Editors ETHAN BOEHME STEPHEN COMBS Dialog Editor MIIK DINKO Music Supervisor GREG LANDAU Music by CAMILO LANDAU and GREG LANDAU Color Grading at Bunte Farben Colorist STEPHEN LATTY Sound Design and Mix by GREG LANDAU, CAMILO LANDAU and CHRIS FLETCHER Post Production Sound OUTPOST STUDIOS, SAN FRANCISCO Post Production Assistant GRETCHEN HASSE Chicago Written by FRED FLETCHER Performed by JUDY GARLAND One Man Revolution Written and Performed by TOM MORELLO Stay Right Here Written and Performed by DAVID ROVICS Hard Times Written and Performed by RICO PABON I'm New Here Written and Performed by GIL SCOTT-HERON It's The People Who Make The Difference Written by GREG LANDAU and FRANCISCO HERRERA Performed by SHEHERAZADE STONE and FRANCISCO HERRERA Democracy Now! footage courtesy of Democracy Now! Productions, Inc. For more information about this daily, independent, global news hour, please visit democracynow.org Special Thanks TONY FITZPATRICK BILL COTTLE PETER KUTTNER CHICAGO PACIFIC ENTERTAINMENT KARTEMQUIN FILMS GORDON QUINN JOHN FECILE TIM HORSBURGH © 2013 The Institute for Cinema Studies, all rights reserved |
