American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
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Friday Night Docs by Cinema Politica Fredericton
Friday March 12, 2010
Screening begins 19h00
Venue: Conserver House - 180 St. John St.
An event to mark Israeli Apartheid Week.
American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
Why has criticizing Israel cost Norman Finkelstein his job, his reputation, and maybe his home?
David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier / USA-Canada / 2009 / 84 min
American Radical is the probing, definitive documentary about American academic Norman Finkelstein. A devoted son of holocaust survivors, ardent critic of Israel and US Mid-East policy, and author of five provocative books including, "The Holocaust Industry", Finkelstein has been steadfast at the center of many intractable controversies, including his recent denial of tenure at DePaul University. Called a lunatic and disgusting 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.
From Beirut to Kyoto, the filmmakers follow Finkelstein around the world as he attempts to negotiate a voice among both supporters and critics, providing an intimate portrait of the man behind the controversy while giving equal time to both his critics and supporters.
ABOUT NORMAN FINKELSTEIN
Both of Finkelstein’s parents are Holocaust survivors who were active in the Warsaw ghetto uprising. His mother, Maryla Husyt Finkelstein survived the Majdanek concentration camp, and his father, Zacharias Finkelstein, survived the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Finkelstein's work has earned him both condemnation and praise from various intellectuals and scholars. He has written six notable books on the Middle East conflict and the Holocaust, including the international bestsellers The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah. Finkelstein is completing his seventh book - A Farewell to Israel: The Coming Break-up of American Zionism – arguing that American Jewish support for Israel is beginning to wane.
Finkelstein has been mentored by notable linguist and political scientist Noam Chomsky and his late wife Carol. He is a close friend of Canadian Nazi Hunter Ruth Bettina Birn and Award winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn. He often appears on the award-winning radio and television program Democracy Now
Trailer
Credits
produced and directed by
David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier
edited by
Cameron Clendaniel
music by
Judd Greenstein
cameras
David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier
sound design by
Eli Cohn
co-producer
Cameron Clendaniel
supervising producer
Jennifer Utz
associate producer
Jennifer Filippazzo
line producers
Saed Andoni, Lida Charaf, Dan Yaron
assistant producers
Chris Krystallis, Camille Almada
additional camera and sound
Jawad Metni, Jennifer Utz, Hanna Abu Saada, Aaron Berman, Jeff Beardall, Jason Fowler, Michael Kranicke, Rafi Landau, Ariel Mayrose, Elizabeth Press, Raouf Zaki, John Versical, Caton Volk, Jill Woodward, Lida Charaf
translators
Samir Al, Hanan Tabbara
thank you to our participants
Norman Finkelstein, Musa Abu-Hashhash, Nidal Barham, Noam Chomsky, Alan Dershowitz, Richard Finkelstein, Raul Hilberg, John Mearsheimer, David Olesker, Len Rudner, Avi Shlaim, Maxine Tsvaigrach.
original music published by
Good Child Music (ASCAP)
special thanks to
Ghassan Andoni, Susan Berger, AP Images, CBC News, Chicago Public Radio, Democracy Now!, Eli Choukri, Stuart Coxe, The Doha Debates, Gerrit Elbrink, Henry Finkelstein, John Goelet, Good Child Music,Sara Hausner-Levine, Gideon Levy, ITN Source, Katherine Kneller, Don Knox, Andy Lanset, Allan Nairn, Nederlandse Islamitische Omroep, Peter Novick, Production Craft, Inc., Sandra Rossier, David Shapiro, Najat Sharafeddine – Future Television, John Sinno, THE Law Offices of Innes Smolansky, The Zola Levitt Ministries, Ezra Winton
Film site & Reviews
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