Preview 'Citizen Koch' July 19 at the AFL-CIO, Then Help Get It on the Air
Come check out a sneak preview of the documentary film " Citizen Koch " at a free screening at noon, Friday, July 19, at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The film by Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin explores the impact that the unlimited campaign spending by wealthy donors like the Koch brothers and corporations that was unleashed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling had in the fight over workers’ rights in Wisconsin.
Watch the trailer below.
According to the synopsis of the film on the "Citizen Koch" website:
'Citizen Koch' features three Wisconsin state employees whose staunch Republican loyalty is challenged when newly elected Gov. Scott Walker moves to take away their union rights, while simultaneously bestowing tax breaks on large corporations. When the Tea Party takes root in their state, these lifelong Republicans must confront the fact that the policies their party is pushed to advocate are cutting the economic ground out from underneath them and their families. They come to see the political drama unfolding in their state as a GOP strategy to drain union resources.
Lessin will be at the screening for a post-film discussion. If you wish to attend the screening, you should RSVP here .
After its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, “Citizen Koch” was on the way to an airing on public television. But Deal and Lessin allege that the long reach and influence of the Kochs was behind the decision by the Independent Television Service, the public agency that funds and curates independent documentaries, to withdraw $150,000 in previously committed support for the film.
At the time, David Koch was on the board of directors at WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston and was a major contributor to public television. Jane Mayer writes in a May New Yorker article that public television executives backed out of the deal in order to placate Koch and not risk his future funding. Read the entire article, “Now a Word from Our Sponsor: Public Television’s Attempt to Placate David Koch .
The filmmakers say the withdrawal of support for “Citizen Koch:”
Is the very thing our film is about—how the money of the few drowns out the voices of the many.
To help recoup the lost funding for the film, Deal and Lessin have begun a 30-day Kickstarter campaign with a goal to raise $75,000. They say while this represents only half of the public monies withdrawn from this film, it is the critical amount needed to ready ”Citizen Koch” for distribution.
Click here to show your support for independent filmmaking and take a stand against censorship by making a pledge to “Citizen Koch” today.
