Registration is required for this event.
JP Progressives presents a screening of Democracy Noir, a very timely film which serves as a mirror of what we face now in the US. The rise of autocratic politicians around the world and an increasingly emboldened far right pose dire consequences for us all.
Academy Award–nominated and Emmy-winning director/producer Connie Field will present the film and answer questions.
Fresh off its run in Europe, Democracy Noir is a Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX; Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield;
Best Documentary and impact award, Boston Film Festival;
Jury Award, One World Festival Prague; and Best Documentary, Sebastopol Film Festival.
Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Viktor Orbán used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party.
Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, – opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal– detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women coming to terms with their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape and their experiences are a cautionary tale for the rest of the world. As much as it is an exploration of their courage and resistance, Democracy Noir is also a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.
Directed by Connie Field
Produced by Sigrid Dyekjaer and Connie Field
A Clarity Film Production
Director, Producer Connie Field, Clarity Films Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Connie Field has made a number of high profile documentaries that have been shown all over the world. Her work includes: Have You Heard From Johannesburg ,seven part series on the global movement that ended Apartheid in South Africa (Prime Time Emmy, Best Documentary Series, IDA & Gold Hugo); Freedom on My Mind, a history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi (Academy Award nominee, Sundance Grand Jury Prize); Forever Activist (Academy Award Nominee); the feminist classic, The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (15 international awards best documentary); ¡Salud! on Cuba’s role in the struggle for global health equity (Council on Foundations Henry Hampton Award); and Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine (Justice Matters Award); The Whistleblower of My Lia (KPBS GI Fest, Best Documentary Nominee). Oliver Tambo (Pan African Film Festival Best Documentary). Her work has been broadcast in over 30 countries and in the US on Independent Lens and The American Experience. She is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim grant, as well as numerous grants from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities (and Arts), and the MacArthur Foundation and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, as well as the Television Academy.
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