It’s a re-mix of U.S. foreign policy, created from the Commander-in-Chief’s
“Moment of Truth” speech which he delivered on the
eve of invading Iraq in March 2003.
Cast: George W. Bush
Written and Produced by Jen Simmons
Edited and Produced by Sarah Christman
Jen Simmons and Sarah Christman’s poignant Bush for Peace strives to imagine the kind of character and policy stance we’d like in our commander-in-chief. It’s a response to Bush’s declaration of war against Iraq in which, Simmons explains, “[We] wanted to see what it would feel like to watch Bush declare peace, and be honest.” The White House had supplied the networks with a title for the speech, “Moment of Truth,” which made them wonder, “What would it feel like to have a real moment of truth?” So the [filmmakers] transformed Bush’s hawkish language into a humble apology to the world.…
As he speaks these words, an odd thing happens: Bush’s usual sanctimony gives way to genuine gravity. Watching the president’s head jerk slightly with each cut, you know the effect is entirely contrived, and this awareness yields sorrow: why can’t our leaders and statesmen make statements like this one? “People tend to laugh and applaud for the first minute,” Simmons observes. “And then everybody gets real quiet.”
— Jesse Ashlock, “Politics Any Way You Slice It”, RES Magazine, September/October ‘04
Selected Festival Screenings:
resfest 2004
New York City, Boston, San Francisco, London, Sheffield, Austin, Los Angeles, Glasgow, Portland, Toronto, Bristol, Singapore, Washington DC, Dublin, São Paulo, Nottingham, Seoul, Tokyo, Zurich, Cape Town, Osaka, Johannesburg, Chicago, Fukuoka, Melbourne, Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona, Valladolid, Vigo, Victoria, Sydney, Istanbul
Media Rights’ 4th annual Media That Matters Film Festival
- winner of the Politics + Government Award
- Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC
- 911 Media Arts Center, Seattle
- Alliance for Community Media Conference, Tampa
- Detroit Film Center
- Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis
- Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia
- Bay Area Video Coalition, San Francisco
- Boston Mobilization
- SXSW 2005, Austin
- Center for Social Media, Washington DC
- and on Netflix
Microcinema’s Independent Exposure!
- Project 101, Paris France
- The Revival House, Rhode Island
- Axiom Theater, Houston, Texas
- Urban 15, San Antonio, Texas
- 111 Minima Gallery, San Francisco
- 21 Grand, Oakland CA
- Neuer Standort, Vienna, Austria
- Zeitgeist, New Orleans
- OneTen Madision, Wisconsin
- Némo Festival, Paris, France
[Remembering-Repressing-Forgetting]
[R][R][F] 2004 —>XP
- global networking project by Agricola de Cologne
- Basics Festival, Salzburg, Austria
- VI Salon y Coloquio International de Arte Digital, Havanna, Cuba
- Electronic Art Meeting, Pescara, Italy
- Festival of New Film, New Media Split, Croatia
Other Festival Screenings include…
- International Film Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands
- NOTT Dance Festival, Nottingham England
- PDX: Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival
- Video Mundi International Video + Film Showcase, Chicago
- Free Speech TV
- Termite TV’s The War Show
- US Super-8 Film + Digital Video Festival, New Brunswick New Jersey
- Illegal Art Extravaganza, Philadelphia
- Santa Cruz Film Festival, California
- Cinefestival en San Antonio, Guadulupe Cultural Arts Center
- HiLo Film Festival, San Francisco
- Philadelphia Fringe Festival
- Jump-Start Performance Co, San Antonio
- Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, New York
- The Painted Bride Arts Center, Philadelphia
- Dallas Video Festival, Texas
- Cornell Cinema, Ithaca, New York
- Prince Music Theater Cinema Lounge, Philadelphia
- Cayuga College, Auburn, New York
- Squeaky Wheel, Buffalo, New York
- Athens International Film & Video Festival, Athens, Ohio
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