"The F Word" was one of at least two films inspired by "Medium Cool" screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, though with even a looser story on top of the 2004 Republican convention in New York City than Haskell Wexler did for Chicago in 1968.
The pretext for covering the demonstrators, both real ones and actors in cameos playing New Yorkers, is Josh Hamilton as a DJ whose low power community radio station is being shut down due to FCC fines for inappropriate language, sort of an update of the old Mike Agranoff folk opus "The Ballad About the Sandman" about a rebellious DJ's last show, but here he takes it to the streets. (The real New Yorkers are quizzical because the fictional station's call letters start with "K" whereas East Coast radio stations start with "W", so I'm not sure why writer/director Jed Weintrob chose that additional artifice.)
Hamilton is very engaging and makes a genuine effort to involve protesters and curious passers-by in substantive debate and conversation as he hikes from downtown to a respite with the oblivious sunbathers in Central Park and back down to the convention site in midtown. He really does try to find Republicans or at least be a devil's advocate in discussions to try to be fair. Demonstrators dressed almost ridiculously theatrically prove to be articulately heartfelt.
He is at some of the same rallies as the filmmakers of "Conventioneers" so I expected the actors from that movie to show up in this one, but Weintrob does let the real thing come through, especially the march of the coffins representing those killed in Iraq, and this film covers a colorful demonstration in front of Fox News headquarters that the other film missed (maybe it happened while the other filmmakers were under arrest).
The closing warnings about the threats to free speech of the Patriot Act are even closer to coming true.
I expect the distribution for this film will be limited to meetings of liberal organizations.
The pretext for covering the demonstrators, both real ones and actors in cameos playing New Yorkers, is Josh Hamilton as a DJ whose low power community radio station is being shut down due to FCC fines for inappropriate language, sort of an update of the old Mike Agranoff folk opus "The Ballad About the Sandman" about a rebellious DJ's last show, but here he takes it to the streets. (The real New Yorkers are quizzical because the fictional station's call letters start with "K" whereas East Coast radio stations start with "W", so I'm not sure why writer/director Jed Weintrob chose that additional artifice.)
Hamilton is very engaging and makes a genuine effort to involve protesters and curious passers-by in substantive debate and conversation as he hikes from downtown to a respite with the oblivious sunbathers in Central Park and back down to the convention site in midtown. He really does try to find Republicans or at least be a devil's advocate in discussions to try to be fair. Demonstrators dressed almost ridiculously theatrically prove to be articulately heartfelt.
He is at some of the same rallies as the filmmakers of "Conventioneers" so I expected the actors from that movie to show up in this one, but Weintrob does let the real thing come through, especially the march of the coffins representing those killed in Iraq, and this film covers a colorful demonstration in front of Fox News headquarters that the other film missed (maybe it happened while the other filmmakers were under arrest).
The closing warnings about the threats to free speech of the Patriot Act are even closer to coming true.
I expect the distribution for this film will be limited to meetings of liberal organizations.