America
Screening – All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, And The Spirit of I.F. Stone + Q&A
Independent journalists like Amy Goodman, Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Matt Taibbi are changing the face of journalism, providing investigative, adversarial alternatives to mainstream, corporate news outlets. All Governments Lie follows them as they expose government and corporate deception – just as the groundbreaking independent journalist I.F. Stone did decades ago.
The Editor’s View with Roy Greenslade: Tackling Fake News
As the public respond to rapid political changes in Europe and America, a digital-age quandary is emerging around editorial policies of newspapers during times of political transition. In a new series of exclusive talks hosted by journalist Roy Greenslade, we are bringing together today’s leading news editors to discuss, directly with their readers, issues related to editorial policies and press freedom in an era of polarising politics.
Drones: National Bird of USA
National Bird is a documentary about the effects of drone warfare conducted by the US in Afghanistan as part of its war against terrorism. It also incidentally became a documentary on whistleblowing. Drone pilots Lisa, Heather and Daniel reveal how drone warfare, presented as efficacious and selective, is much more liable to error than US officials are […]
Groundtruth: 0% of US TV coverage of the election had to do with policy
Just days before the result of the 2016 US Presidential Election, Boston-based foreign news organisation GroundTruth took part in a panel debate on the question of media credibility. In town for a team meeting, Charles Sennott and Gary Knight, founders of GroundTruth, shared their commitment to training up-and-coming talent in global correspondents in an age when […]
What Does Trump’s Presidency Mean for the Rest of the World?
In one of the most dramatic political upsets in modern American history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton to become President Elect of the United States. Trump’s presidency means radical change in America’s foreign policy. How will campaign talk compare to real world policy?
Fully Booked – US Election Night 2016 at the Frontline Club
As Americans go to the polls we invite you to join us to follow the live coverage of the 58th US Presidential election night. In what is set to be a tight race we will have coverage from Sky News and other networks as results unfold state by state. Tickets are £5 standard and free for Frontline Club members, however booking online is required.
U.S. Under the Lens: Do Not Resist + Q&A
Do Not Resist is an urgent and powerful exploration of the rapid militarisation of the police in the United States. Opening on startling on-the-scene footage in Ferguson, Missouri, the film then broadens its scope to present scenes from across the country. Through keen and thoughtful observances, director Craig Atkinson deftly presents the characters and stories that comprise this pressing issue. The result reveals a rare and surprising look into the increasingly disturbing realities of American police culture.
U.S. Under the Lens: Under the Gun + Panel Discussion
This screening will be followed by a panel discussion with director Stephanie Soechtig and others.
Under the Gun examines the events and people who have kept the U.S. gun debate fierce and the progress slow, even as gun deaths and mass shootings continue to increase. Through the lens of families impacted by the mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, Isla Vista and Tucson, as well as those who experience daily gun violence in Chicago, the documentary looks at why politicians are finding it difficult to act and what is being done at the state and local levels. The film is executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig.
U.S. Under the Lens: TRAPPED + Q&A
At this very moment, a woman’s reproductive rights in the United States are not clear. Since 2010, state legislatures have passed more than 250 laws restricting abortion clinics and their doctors. From mandating the width of hallways to requiring physicians to have active admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, these measures are forcing clinics across the country to shut down in epidemic numbers. Lawyer-turned-acclaimed-filmmaker Dawn Porter picks up the plight of the doctors and clinic operators along with the countless women relying on these facilities to uphold their legal right to safe abortion.
Inside Obama’s White House
On Tuesday 15 March the Frontline Club hosted a screening of the first episode from new BBC Two series Inside Obama’s White House. It was followed by a Q&A with series producer Norma Percy and director Paul Mitchell, moderated by author and Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland.
BBC Preview Screening: Inside Obama’s White House + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with series producer Norma Percy and producer/director Paul Mitchell, moderated by journalist and author Jonathan Freedland.
In this landmark series by Norma Percy, Brian Lapping and Paul Mitchell, four one-hour programmes capture key moments when policy was made, including contribution from Obama’s Chief of Staff and insiders within the administration.
Screening: Sicario + Q&A
The Frontline Club is delighted to host a screening of Dennis Villeneuve’s Sicario to coincide with the BluRay and DVD release of the film this February. This screening will be followed by a discussion with journalist Ed Vulliamy.
After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) receives a top assignment. Recruited by mysterious government official Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), Kate joins a task force for the escalating war against drugs.
Cartel Land: Violence and Vigilantism in Mexico
By Ratha Lehall On Friday 4 September, the Frontline Club hosted a screening of Cartel Land, a fearless and revealing documentary that portrays the violent influence of Mexican drug cartels and the vigilante groups fighting to end their reign of terror. The screening was followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Matthew Heineman.
PBS Preview Screening: Last Days in Vietnam + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with executive producer Mark Samels.
Last Days in Vietnam chronicles the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon. Approximately 5,000 Americans remained, with roughly 24 hours to get out. Their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers, and friends faced certain imprisonment and possible death if they remained behind, yet there was no official evacuation plan in place.
Screening: Cartel Land + Q&A
In this double Sundance winner, Matthew Heineman takes us deep into the world of Mexican drug cartels by embedding himself with two vigilante groups on either side of the US-Mexico border.
PBS Preview Screening – Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Dyanna Taylor.
Explore, through her granddaughter’s eyes, the life story of Dorothea Lange, the photographer who captured the iconic image “Migrant Mother.” Never-seen-before photos, film footage, interviews, family memories, and journals reveal the artist who challenged America to know itself.
Preview Screening: Food Chains + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sanjay Rawal and producer Eric Schlosser.
There is so much interest in food today but very little interest in the hands that pick it. Featuring Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, and actress/advocate Eva Longoria, the award-winning documentary Food Chains exposes the horrific abuses farmworkers face and reveals the forces behind that exploitation: the $4 trillion global supermarket industry.
America’s Secret Drone Wars: What is the Cost?
Days after the September 11 attacks, a CIA Predator in Afghanistan executed the world’s first lethal drone strike. The CIA claims that its armed drones are ‘the most precise weapon ever invented’, but what is the true cost? In a new book, Sudden Justice, investigative journalist Chris Woods explores the secretive history of the United States’ use of armed drones. He will be joining us with a panel of experts to explore that history and the key role they play on today’s battlefields and in covert targeted killings.
Screening: Drone + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Tonje Hessen Schei.
Directed by Tonje Hessen Schei and produced by Flimmer Film, Drone takes an in depth look at the United States’ use of drone technology, questioning how drones are altering the psychology of war. In the midst of fast advancement of technology and international legislation struggling to keep up with it, Schei‘s film displays how drones are rapidly defining a new perception of war.
Screening: Silenced + Q&A
What happened to the man who exposed the CIA’s use of waterboarding? And what are the consequences of making public illegal intelligence gathering techniques by the US government? In this revealing documentary, three prominent whistleblowers explain how everything radically changed after 9/11. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director James Spione.
Preview Screening: 1971 + Q&A
On 8 March 1971, eight ordinary citizens broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania. The members of the self-proclaimed Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI picked the lock on the door, took every file in the office, loaded them into suitcases and walked out the front door. Mailed anonymously, these documents started to show up in newsrooms, unleashing fierce debates on whether or not to publish them. Despite demands by the Nixon administration to suppress the story, The Washington Post went to press, uncovering the FBI’s vast and illegal regime of spying and intimidation of Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. This screening will be followed by a Q&A via Skype with director Johanna Hamilton.
The Heroic Tragedy: Who is Dayani Cristal?
By George Symonds “The Journey towards you Lord, is life. To set off is to die a little.” (The Migrants’ Prayer) On Monday 7 July 2014, the Frontline Club screened Who is Dayani Cristal? The film follows actor Gael García Bernal as he retraced the footsteps of a Honduran man found dead in the Arizonan […]
Preview Screening: After Tiller + Q&A
While nine American states allow late-term abortions, only four doctors in the country are willing to perform them. In the wake of the 2009 assassination of practitioner Dr George Tiller in Kansas, After Tiller intimately explores the highly controversial subject of third-trimester abortions. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-director Lana Wilson.
Screening: Gore Vidal – The United States of Amnesia + Q&A
Director Nicholas Wrathall chronicles Gore Vidal’s rich and multifaceted life through archival footage from his legendary on-air career as well as candid interviews and observational footage captured in his final years. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Nicholas Wrathall.
Remembering Alexander Cockburn
A talented and courageous writer, and one of the most influential radical journalists of his generation, Alexander Cockburn was most at home in the political and cultural battlegrounds of the US. Join us to look back on Alexander Cockburn’s extraordinary career, exploring his view of America and his style of radical journalism. We will also hear readings from his final work, A Colossal Wreck: A Road Trip Through Political Scandal, Corruption, and American Culture, finished shortly before his death in July 2012.
America’s Shifting Foreign Policy
As Barack Obama enters the second year of his second and final term in office, he faces considerable foreign policy challenges. Join us as we dissect Obama’s foreign policy ambitions, exploring the shifts in focus and how they are playing out. Will he achieve his second term goals? Can he successfully pull focus to Asia or will the conflict in Syria direct attention back to the Middle East?
Between the Lines: One for Ten + Q&A
The death penalty was re-instated in the United States in 1976, for every ten people that have been executed since then, one person has been released from death row. One for Ten is a crowd-funded series telling the stories of these innocent people. It is made live on the road; shot in one day, edited the next, and uploaded overnight. The screening will be followed by a debate with co-directors Will Francome and Mark Pizzey, and producer Laura Shacham discussing the pros and cons of creating short web-documentaries, online distribution and crowd-funding.
#FCBBCA Israel and Iran: Countdown to war? – The report
By Jim Treadway Will 2013 see an escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran? The Frontline Club in association with BBC Arabic brought together an expert panel to decipher the drumbeat of war and predict what 2013 may hold. Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow began by telling an audience at LSE’s Sheikh Zayed Theatre on 12 December, that the […]
Frei at The Frontline Club
By Alan Selby A packed house at The Frontline Club heard Matt Frei regale them with tales from his long and illustrious career. The former BBC Washington correspondent, recently poached by Channel 4 News, was on fine form as he spoke to former BBC executive Vin Ray about more than 20 years with the BBC: […]