Party in The Street Interviews

This film project has been in production since May, and we have had the distinct opportunity of interviewing many important and influential people both within and outside of the anti-war movement. Our work has taken us to many diverse places, including a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Capitol Hill, the hot and crowded streets of Denver, the politically charged downtown of St. Paul, a freezing cold Palin rally in the middle of Virginia, and the anticipatory and hopeful gathering in Grant Park , Chicago on NOv. 4th. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and the journey continues....
Here is a list of the people we've had the pleasure of speaking with and interviewing on camera, Each one has contributed something unique and thoughtful to our filmmaking journey. After every interview, I pack up my camera gear, my sponge-like brain soaked full of new and interesting ideas about the world we live in. I am continually fascinated and deeply awed by the diversity and contribution of every person we have the opportunity to speak with.
Here they are, up to this date, in no particular order....

* Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA
* Jay Marx, Co-Coordinator, Washington Peace Center
* Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
* Brian Becker, National Coordinator for ANSWER Coalition
* Samantha Miller, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
* Geoff Millard, DC Chapter President and Board of Directors member, IVAW
* Gale Murphy, co-founder, CODEPINK: Women for Peace
* Tanya Paperny, Advocacy Associate Manager, Campus Progress
* Peter Lems, Iraq Associate, Amerian Friends Service Committee
* Thomas DeBruin, Vice President of SEIU (Service Employees International Union)
* Johann Berrigan, House of Grace Catholic Worker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Pledge of Resistance, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
* Ann Wilcox, National Lawyers Guild
* Cindy Sheehan, candidate for US Congress, California's 8th district, Cindy for Congress
* Matthew Smucker, Field Organizer War Resisters League
* Roger Rose, associate professor of political science, Benedictine University
* Ann Wright, retired Colonel, US Army, author of DISSENT: Voices of Conscience
* Bill Goold, Executive Director, Congressional Progressive Caucus
* Bob Edgar, President and CEO of Common Cause
* Raed Jarrar, architect, blogger (In The Middle), and activist
* Sarah Rose Jensen, CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Washington DC chapter
* Adam Kokesh, Board of Directors member, IVAW
* Judith LeBlanc, Organizing Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
* Desiree Farooz, "house mother" CODEPINK house
* Pete Perry, board member, Washington Peace Center
* Lynn Woolsey, Congresswoman (D-CA), United States House of Representatives
* Sue Udry, Legislative Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
* Sonia Silbert, Co-Coordinator, Washington Peace Center
* Melissa Van, former Executive Director, Peace Action New York State
* Erik Leaver, Research Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington D.C.
* Tom Hayden, author, social & political activist, founder member of SDS
* Nadine Bloch, Oil Change International
* Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action
* Debra Sweet, National Coordinator, World Can't Wait
* David Broder, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, The Washington Post
* Gene Bruskin, Co-Convenor and Co-Founder, US Labor Against the War
* Marlena Santoyo, Grannie Peace Brigade Philidelphia
* Matthis Chiroux, consciousness objector
* Ron Kovic, Vietname Veteran, author of Born on the Fourth of July
* Libero Della Piana, Chairperson, New York Communist Party
* Brian Anders, Washington Peace Center
* David Swanson, author, journalist, DC Director of Democrats.com and of ImpeachPAC.org
* Rosa Clemente, VP Candidate Green Party 2008
* Thom Hartmann, Air America Radio
* Martha Rosler, visual artist

* Tim Carpenter, National Director, Progressive Democrats of America

* Van Gosse, Steering Committee member , Historians Against the War
* Bill Moyer, Executive Director, Backbone Campaign
* Michael McPhearson, Executive Director, Veterans for Peace
* Tom Swan, Coordinator of US Action's Iraq 2008 Campaig
* Carl Davidson, Co-Chair, Chicagoans Against War and Injustice
* Marilyn Katz, Co-Chair, Chicagoans Against War and Injustice
* John Mark Hansen, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
* Medea Benjamin, Co-Founder, CODEPINK: Women for Peace
* Judy Langford, Member of Childrens' Policy Committee, Obama-Biden Campaign 2008
* Amy Solomon, Illinois High School Coordinator, Students for Barack Obama
* Agnes Mazur, volunteer, Obama-Biden Campaign 2008

REGISTER! VOTE! END THE WAR!

This is what a police state looks like

Each city (Denver and St. Paul) has been awarded $50 million in federal funds for convention related costs, a substantial part of which is being spent on security-related equipment and training.
New York Times article, Denver Police Brace for the Convention

Both cities have exhibited what $50 million will buy when it comes to riot gear, armored tanks for pedestrian control, and countless other security measures, most of which are intimidating and completely uneccesary. Almost every aspect of the police presence looked brand spankin' new, including the bikes, the horses, the riot masks, the tear gas launchers. Not a scratch or a ding on any of their equipment.
$100 million is a substantial amount of money. Is this really the best way our government could think to spend it?










The following are a few photos of a tense standoff on a bridge between the police and the protestors. This happened on the last night of the convention, as John McCain was preparing to give his acceptance speech. As it appears in the photos, there were about as many riot cops and there were protestors. The protestors sat down in the middle of the road and chanted anti-war slogans for about an hour as the police presence countinued to increase. All of the police were in full riot gear, and armed with tear gas guns. I was standing on the edge of the bridge, perched up on the rail along with many other journalists. It was a very tense situation, no one knew what was going to happen. Ultimately, the protestors turned around and tried another route, eventually getting herded onto another bridge where everyone was arrested, including journalists. To read more about this event, go here.

Marching in Mile High City

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE played at the Denver Coliseum today week to a sold-out crowd of over 7,000 people. I had the chance to film from the press pit right in front of the stage. It was loud and crazy, and the crowd was really hyped!


The concert was put on by the Iraq Veterans Against the War, and after the concert RAGE encouraged everyone in attendance to march peacefully in solidarity with IVAW as they marched to the Pepsi Center to deliver a letter to Obama, calling on him to endorse the three main goals of IVAW: Immediate withdrawal, full veterans benefits, and reparations for the Iraqi people. To read more about this amazing march, please go to the IVAW website.
Here are a few pictures from this powerful day:


RAGE marched with IVAW, carrying the banner reading "SUPPORT GI RESISTANCE". Zach de la Rocha is in the army green shirt and the black hat. To his right is Tom Morello.



The masked woman is Liz Carter, a member of CODEPINK: Women for Peace. Liz is an incredibly enthusiastic antiwar activist and can be found anywhere the action is going down! Early in the summer, I had the opportunity to film Liz at a Senate Congressional hearing on Capital Hill, and she chased down several Senators in the hall to encourage them (very vocally) to vote against the FISA Bill and to stop funding the war. This woman means business!




This is Ron Kovic, an anti-war activist, veteran, and writer who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on The 4th of July. He followed immediately behind the young men and women of IVAW for the entire march. Very powerful indeed.

Say hello to Medea Benjamin, one of the founders of CODEPINK. She was standing in front of a line of riot cops, asking people to join her in a "peace line" to counter the police line. Many people joined her, lining up side by side to face the police.



Marching alongside the RESISTANCE banner is Judith LeBlanc, an organizing coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, a prominent antiwar organization. Michael and I had the pleasure of interviewing Judith at her home in New York City over the summer. I have since run into her at several peace rallies and antiwar actions.



Geoff Millard is the DC chapter president of IVAW. He served for many years in the Army National Guard, serving in several countries, including Iraq. Geoff is very outspoken against the war and can be seen on all over television, sparring with Bill O'Reilly, discussing the problems in our current political system with Amy Goodman, and giving a voice to Veterans on CNN.
Geoff stands out to me as an exemplery model of what we can and should do to raise awareness of the atrocities of this war. He is very passionate about his beliefs and doesn't miss an opportunity to spread awareness. He has emerged as a central character in this film, and has opened himself to me, which I am infinitley grateful for. I believe that Geoff's antiwar message is very powerful because of his youth, his experience, and because of his incredible articulation of the importance of conscientious objection.
During the IVAW march, Geoff served as the police liason, helping to maintain constant communication between the police and the marchers.

MELOFILMS goes to DENVER!

Welcome to Denver, the Mile High City!
We are here filming for our anti-war documentary. We've been in town for three days and it has been nonstop action since we landed. My trip officially began when I introduced myself to Afrika Bambaatta in the Denver Int'l Airport, and handed him my card. He told me he was in town for the "Rock the Bells" concert and then he invited me and Tomek to join him at all the celebrity parties and VIP events all week. Just kidding. He was very nice, though

Denver is a beautiful place, surrounded by picturesque mountains and blessed with a delightful breeze. The DNC has pretty much taken over the whole city. Here is a photo of the Pepsi Center and the Convention Center, two of the main locations of the Convention. These photos were taken by Paul Docktor, a local Denverite and a valuable addition to our documentary crew. He is a retired surgeon, and a very talented photographer. We call him Doctor Docktor.


This is us in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver. This hotel is in the center of the action and is housing all the delegates from California and New York. The lobby is buzzing with acitivity at all hours. Here is a photo of me and Michael talking with Tom Hayden and his assistant, Emily. Tomek is keeping watch and carrying the gear. What a guy!

More to come....

RESPECT

A few days ago we had the honor of interviewing Ann Wright, a retired Army Colonel. Ann served 13 years in active duty in the U.S. Army, 16 years in the Army Reserves, and 16 years in the Foreign Service for the US State Department. She resigned in protest over the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and is now a a very visible antiwar activist. She is one of only three State Department Officials to resign over the occupation of Iraq. Ann gave us a very honest and impassioned interview that truly inspired me. I have a great deal of respect for her for standing up for what she believed in, and for not backing down on her beliefs, even to this day.
This is her letter of resignation...

"I have served my country for almost thirty years in some of the most isolated and dangerous parts of the world. I want to continue to serve America. However, I do not believe in the policies of this Administration and cannot --- morally and professionally --- defend or implement them. It is with heavy heart that I must end my service to America and therefore resign."

These are photos of our interview with Ann.




Here is a shot of Ann hiding behind an Obama sign. Next to her is Gael Murphy, one of the co-founders of CODEPINK, a women's peace and antiwar group. They are waiting to catch a glimpse of Obama as he enters a fundraising event in DC.


Ann recently co-authored a book called DISSENT: Voices of Conscience. It is about men and women inside the government that have spoken out about the war in Iraq. She is currently traveling around the country promoting her book, for more info, look here.

"One day we must come to see that peace is not mearly a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means."

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.