PRESS RELEASE
February 2010
For Immediate Release
DOCUMENTARY ON ISRAEL’S CRITIC BANNED FROM ISRAEL TO OPEN IN NEW YORK SOON
American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
by David Ridgen Nicolas Rossier
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“AMERICAN RADICAL: THE TRIALS OF NORMAN FINKELSTEIN” TO MAKE ITS NEW YORK PREMIERE AT ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES CINEMA.
New York, February 10, 2010 Ridgen and Rossier’s new compelling
documentary about controversial Jewish-American academic Norman Finkelstein
is to open soon at Anthology Film Archives. The film has already played in
prominent festivals around the world including the Sheffield Doc/Fest
documentary festival, IDFA in Amsterdam and the Jewish Film Festival in
Jerusalem.
American Radical is the definitive film about controversial Jewish-American
academic Norman Finkelstein. A devoted son of holocaust survivors, staunch
critic of Israeli and US Mid-East policies and author of six provocative
books including The Holocaust Industry, Beyond Chutzpah and the upcoming
title, This Time We Went to Far: Truth and Consequences of the Gaza
Invasion. Finkelstein has been at the center of many intractable
controversies. Called a lunatic and a self-hating Jew by some and an
inspirational, street-fighting revolutionary by others, Finkelstein is a
deeply polarizing figure whose struggles arise from core questions about
freedom, identity and nationhood. The film provides an intimate portrait of
the man behind the controversy, giving voice to both his many critics and
his supporters, while following him around the globe as he labors to change
peoples’ minds.
American Radical is produced and directed by accomplished documentary
filmmakers David Ridgen (Mississippi Cold Case) and Nicolas Rossier
(Aristide and the Endless Revolution). Say Ridgen and Rossier, “We were
fascinated by the idea of fighting fire with fire. Strong offense. Eye for
an eye. Polarizing forces that create understanding in their collision, like
filmmaker Eisenstein’s cells. That it takes a radical to tame radicalism, or
perhaps to end it. Norman Finkelstein embodies this duality. For us, he is a
case study for it in fact. Some important voices say he is full of sound and
fury signifying nothing. Others say he is a street fighter for the
downtrodden. But what is the real politick of his words and actions and
existence? These are the questions we wanted to answer. The more one
considers Norman and those in his realm, the more one recognizes that no
radical is without sin or innocence. There is worth in being a modern
firebrand, and there are great costs. And both may lie where you least
expect to discover them.
Completed in 2009, American Radical was picked up for US distribution by
Typecast Releasing. Typecast will make American Radical available for
broadcast, theaters, festival screenings, DVD and digital distribution in
the USA. Uk based Mercury Media will take care of the foreign rights.
For more information contact:
Nic Rossier and David Ridgen
www.americanradicalthefilm.com
Typecast Releasing
www.typecastfilms.com
For Information on Tickets and Venue click HERE
