[CounterCorp] Festival thank-you, new date, CounterCorp @ Green Fest

[CounterCorp News and Events List]

Dear friend of CounterCorp,

	We're finally back in the office after taking a much-needed break  
following this year's Anti-Corporate Film Festival, and wanted to  
catch up with a couple of things before we head into the holiday season:

1) 2008 COUNTERCORP FESTIVAL

	We want to thank everyone who came out to the 3rd Annual CounterCorp  
Anti-Corporate Film Festival last month, and helped make the Festival  
a success. We were thrilled to host this year's Festival at the  
beautiful Brava Theater, and hoped you enjoyed the venue as much as we  
did.

	For those of you who couldn't make it this year, among the highlights  
were the "TRUE Cost of Oil" program, featuring excerpts from two films  
about oil giant and corporate serial killer Chevron that are still in  
production, and one film about Chevron in Ecuador, along with a 'dream  
team' discussion panel including two of the filmmakers, a lawyer for  
the lawsuits against Chevron being tried in two courts in San  
Francisco, two experts on oil exploitation, and audience members that  
included a group of Nigerians testifying in the lawsuits and students  
from Richmond, California, where Chevron's soon-to-be-expanded  
refinery has been slowly poisoning members of the community for years  
in a textbook case of environmental racism and corporate sociopathy.

	Another highlight was our closing night film, the California premiere  
of "Visioneers", starring comedian Zach Galifianakis, a narrative  
satire of corporate culture and its impacts on communities, society,  
and our personal psyches. The screening was attended by writer Brandon  
Drake, who spoke after the film and took questions from the audience  
about his debut feature, which was directed by his brother Jared.

2) NEW DATES FOR 2009 FESTIVAL

	After three years of holding the Anti-Corporate Film Festival in the  
Fall, we've decided to move it to another time of year entirely -- the  
Spring! This was done for a couple of reasons involving scheduling and  
the availability of films, as well as other events that are going on  
at the same time. So we are moving the 4th Annual CounterCorp Festival  
to May 2009, and have identified the week/end of May 14-16 as our  
tentative dates. So mark your calendars (in pencil), and stand by for  
more information as we move to confirm those dates, and the venue for  
the 2009 Festival ...

3) COUNTERCORP @ GREEN FEST

	CounterCorp has been asked by the organizers of this year's San  
Francisco Green Festival <www.greenfestivals.org/san-francisco/> to  
open the first night of a series of film screenings leading up to the  
Green Fest on Sunday, Nov. 9, starting at 2:00pm. We've decided to  
feature four films from different years of the Anti-Corporate Film  
Festival. So if you missed any of these films and would like to see  
them, come down to the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street (between  
Valencia and Guerrero) in San Francisco and check 'em out! The  
CounterCorp program is as follows:

(2:00pm) "The Forest for the Trees" -- On May 24, 1990, environmental  
activist Judi Bari was seriously injured when the car she was driving  
exploded in Oakland. Hours later, the FBI and Oakland Police arrested  
Bari in the hospital, claiming she had been carrying a bomb that  
accidentally went off. The film tells the story of Bari's fight to  
save the last of the ancient redwood trees, the car-bombing, and her  
suit against the FBI and Oakland Police for accusing her of being an  
ecoterrorist. Directed by Bernadine Mellis (USA, 60 minutes, 2006).  
Screened on the opening night of the 2006 Anti-Corporate Film Festival.

(4:00pm) "Growing Awareness" -- An unvarnished look at a more  
sustainable alternative to the current global food system, in which a  
handful of giant government-subsidized "agri-businesses" control what  
we eat. Directed by Jade Ajani (USA, 100 minutes, 2008). Screened on  
opening night at 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival. View trailer at <www.countercorp.org/countercorp-festival.htm#GROWING 
 >

(6:30pm) "The World According to Monsanto" -- A Internet-based  
detective story that follows a trail of deception, devastation, and  
death left by a corporate serial killer whose weapons include bovine  
growth hormone, defoliants/herbicides/insecticides, dioxin,  
genetically-modified crops, PCBs, seed patents and other so-called  
“intellectual property”. Directed by Marie-Monique Robin (France, 109  
minutes, 2008). Opening night film at the 2008 Anti-Corporate Film  
Festival. View trailer at <www.countercorp.org/countercorp-festival.htm#MONSANTO 
 >

(8:30pm) "This Land Is Your Land" -- A startling, often hilarious  
exploration of the corporate takeover of American life. The filmmakers  
traveled across the U.S. interviewing award-winning authors,  
historians, media pundits, and ordinary citizens about the impact of  
corporate power on nearly every aspect of people’s daily lives, our  
social fabric, and the principles of democracy. The film celebrates  
small acts of resistance by everyday citizens in unique, funny and  
inspiring ways. "A must-see documentary" said the Atlanta Journal- 
Constitution. Directed by Lori Cheatle and Daisy Wright (USA, 82  
minutes, 2006). Closing night film at 2007 Anti-Corporate Film Festival.

	This is a unique opportunity to see films that screened at past  
CounterCorp Festivals, so please pass the information on to your  
friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and acquaintances, and help us  
get more exposure for these films and the issues they raise. We hope  
become a permanent part of the Green Festival film week, and a good  
turn-out for our films will help us make the case for that.

4) CONTRIBUTIONS TO COVER FESTIVAL COSTS

	Finally, we are happy to report that we raised roughly half the cost  
of this year's CounterCorp Festival through ticket sales, which is a  
decent benchmark. (Most film festivals don't break even on ticket  
sales, and rely on fundraising and corporate sponsorships -- we only  
accept the former). We still need to pay off the remaining costs,  
however, and would be grateful for donations to help us close the  
books on 2008 so that we can be ready to finance the 2009 Festival in  
the shorter timeframe we have as a result of the pending schedule  
change. So please consider making a contribution to CounterCorp either  
online (by selecting our name from the drop-down menu at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=695) 
  or by sending a check to our mailing address (2017 Mission Street,  
2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94110). ALL DONATIONS TO COUNTERCORP ARE  
TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Thanks!

	*	*	*

	As always, we appreciate all of your support, and couldn't do any of  
this without you! Hope to see you this Sunday at the Roxie,

John Wilner
Director


	CounterCorp: Putting An End to Business as Usual
	4th Annual Anti-Corporate Film Festival, May 14-16
				www.countercorp.org

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