The Roxie Theater is hosting a screening of “Democracy Noir” by director Connie Field, with proceeds to benefit Indivisible SF.
93 minutes. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GPGHqABpQ8
Often looking at another country which mirrors your own condition can bring clarity to your situation. We have heard this from many viewers who have seen Democracy Noir since the election of Donald Trump: “we experienced the frightening spectacle of Orban writing the playbook for right-wing movements in Europe and for Donald Trump and the Republicans. It was deeply disturbing. And yet the film’s impact on many of us that evening was to offer clarity and to clear away the noise of the constant assault and chaos being sown in the US. The film is frightening, clarifying, and empowering,”
Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX, Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield, Best Documentary and impact award, Boston Film Festival
Review: Mill Valley Film Festival
Connie Field's riveting documentary is part political thriller, part character drama, and part clarion call to action. While there are a lot of big ideas at play, Field expertly knows when to narrow her focus and when to broaden it, allowing for an absorbing experience that feels painfully real and exceedingly personal while never losing sight of the larger stakes for the country should these women fail. What makes Democracy Noir especially effective is its universality. The situation in Hungary isn't an abstract thing that occurred in the distant past. It's happening right now, and as the film makes clear, it could happen anywhere. Democracy Noir feels especially relevant for this particularly fraught political moment, all while pointing out larger social truths that remain timeless.
Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Orbán used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party.
Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, - opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal– detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women coming to terms with their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape and their experiences are a cautionary tale for the rest of the world. As much as it is an exploration of their courage and resistance, Democracy Noir is also a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.
Director, Producer Connie Field, Clarity Films
Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning director Connie Field has made a number of high profile documentaries that have been shown all over the world. Some of her work includes: Have You Heard From Johannesburg seven part series on the global movement that ended Apartheid in South Africa, (Prime Time Emmy, Best Documentary Series, IDA & Gold Hugo); Freedom on My Mind, a history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi (Academy Award nominee, Sundance Grand Jury Prize); Forever Activist(Academy Award Nominee); the feminist classic, The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (15 international awards best documentary); ¡Salud! on Cuba’s role in the struggle for global health equity (Council on Foundations Henry Hampton Award); and Al Helm: Martin Luther King in Palestine' (Justice Matters Award); The Whistleblower of My Lia (KPBS GI Fest, Best Documentary Nominee). Oliver Tambo (Pan African Film Festival Best Documentary). Her work has been broadcast in over 30 countries and in the US on Independent Lens and The American Experience. She is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim grant, as well as numerous grants from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities (and Arts), and the MacArthur Foundation and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, as well as the Television Academy.
More shows added:
Monday March 17 https://ticketing.uswest.veezi.com/purchase/17827?siteToken=4m48btf3yavn7xjk5yxk6nc40c
Saturday March 22. https://ticketing.uswest.veezi.com/purchase/17867?siteToken=4m48btf3yavn7xjk5yxk6nc40c