[CounterCorp] CLOSING NIGHT! 2008 Anti-Corporate Film Festival

[CounterCorp News and Events List]

Dear CounterCorp supporters,

	Yes, it's the last day of 3rd Annual CounterCorp Anti-Corporate Film  
Festival. After competing with the final presidential debate on our  
opening night on Wednesday, we had a great response last night to our  
program called "The REAL Cost of Oil", and we're glad some of you were  
able to make it down to the Brava Theater to participate in it.

	If you haven't come to this year's Festival yet, you have two more  
chances to see films before it concludes tonight, and we're going to  
end things on a great note with the two films -- one documentary, one  
narrative (fictional) work; both California premieres -- that we're  
screening tonight:

	"THE BIG SELLOUT" (Germany, 2006, 94 minutes) at 7:30pm documents the  
effects of the global trend toward the privatization (read:  
corporatization) of basic human needs such as water, electricity,  
transportation, and healthcare on five continents. As the film shows,  
rather than yielding greater efficiencies that are passed on to the  
public in the form of lower prices, what invariably happens is the  
company raises prices and reduces services in an effort to maximize  
profits.

	For those who can't afford the higher prices -- which often amount to  
a substantial percentage of their monthly wage or pension, the result  
is sharply curtailed access to basic needs -- or even no services at  
all. What's also striking about the film is the similarity of the  
experiences in what are otherwise very different countries separated  
by vast distances. In some cases, people are able to fight off efforts  
to privatize, in others they try to make due with -- or subvert -- the  
system that is forced upon them.

	And finally, our closing night film -- "VISIONEERS" (USA, 2008, 94  
mins) -- at 9:30pm maintains a longstanding CounterCorp tradition of  
having a narrative work as the centerpiece of the Anti-Corporate Film  
Festival. This year we are thrilled to present a satirical look at the  
effects of corporate culture on the workers at the biggest and most  
profitable company in the history of the world: the Jeffers Corporation.

	This debut feature by brothers Brandon and Jared Drake -- the writer  
and director, respectively -- stars rising comic talent Zach  
Galifianakis (of Sean Penn's "INTO THE WILD", cable TV's Comedy  
Central channel, and stand-up comedy across the country), and will be  
followed by a Q & A with Brandon Drake. Here's what some reviews have  
said about the film, which won the Audience Award at the 2008  
CineVegas Film Festival:

"A wicked satire with a warm soul ... truly remarkable ... [A] funny,  
intriguing, and touching 'vision' ... a singular work with its own  
eccentric aesthetic and joyous spirit" -- IndieExpress.com

"[F]resh and invigorating ... a high-concept comedy ... works  
magnificently ... insightful, intelligent, and ... funny" --  
Cinematical.com

"Movies like VISIONEERS are the reason we love to attend film  
festivals" -- eFilmCritic.com

	There's a lot of buzz about this film floating out there, and we  
think it's going to be a real crowd-pleaser that ends the 2008  
Festival on a high -- and funny -- note. AND, there'll be an important  
announcement at tonight's screenings about NEXT year's CounterCorp  
Festival, which we're already planning. Big changes are afoot, so come  
to the Brava Theater tonight see one or both films, support us if you  
can, and hear the big news about the 2009 Anti-Corporate Film  
Festival ...

	Tickets are $10 ($5 with valid student ID) and are available at the  
door or through the CounterCorp website (www.countercorp.org), where  
you'll also find trailers for all the films at this year's Festival,  
as well as other information about CounterCorp and past years'  
Festivals.

	Thanks as always for your support -- we couldn't do any of this  
without you!

John Wilner
Director


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