DAUK Film Night: The Choice 2016
was held on October 7, 2016 in London
Screened on the extraordinary election year of 2016, followed by an exciting discussion of the campaign.
The Filmmaker
Michael Kirk
Film Credits
Directed by Michael Kirk
Written by
Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser
Produced by
Michael Kirk
Mike Wiser
Philip Bennett
2016 Articles
On Hillary Clinton
On Donald Trump
The Film Night
Frontline has been producing this series for PBS since 1988.
On The Choice 2016:
“…we’ve undertaken the most ambitious television biographies of these candidates ever created, going beyond the headlines they’ve generated and the personas they’ve created to explore what has made them who they are as people and as politicians.”
And this election is the strangest in living memory. We have nominated the very first woman candidate in our nation’s history, who is probably the most qualified candidate who has ever run for the presidency. At the same time the Republican Party has chosen to nominate a bombastic property mogul and sometime reality T.V. star, who has never run for public office.
Timothy Egan, the long-serving New York Times journalist ended his wrap-up of the Republican convention saying, “And we should fear—for the republic, for democracy facing the greatest peril since the Civil War.” This is no ordinary election year!”
Former DAUK Vice Chair Karin Robinson, Executive Committee member Bill Barnard joined us for a discussion and Q and A chaired by Vice Chair Inge Kjemtrup.
About Michael Kirk
Documentary filmmaker Michael Kirk has produced more than 200 national television programs and won every major award in journalism, including four Peabody Awards, three duPont-Columbia Awards, two George Polk Awards, fourteen Emmy Awards, and ten Writers Guild of America Awards.
He was the senior producer of FRONTLINE from the series’ inception in 1983 until the fall of 1987, when he created his own production company, the Kirk Documentary Group. He has maintained an active and productive relationship with PBS and FRONTLINE.
His documentaries have covered the key political events of this period, from the war in Iraq, to the financial crisis and the war on terror, as well as a wide range of American social and cultural issues. He is currently completing Divided States of America — an epic chronicle of the eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency woven against the backdrop of dramatic changes confronting the GOP. The program will air just before the Presidential Inauguration in January of 2017.
Visit Hillary’s website; keep up to date via The Briefing and Hillary Clinton’s Speeches.
Photo credit: Philip Vukelich as seen on Variety.com
Useful articles:
On Hillary Clinton
Klein, Ezra. “On understanding Hillary Clinton: Why the Clinton America sees isn’t the Clinton colleagues know,” Vox. July 11 2016. A well-researched, insightful article on how Hillary works and campaigns: “Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination by forming a coalition. And part of how she forms coalitions is by listening to her potential partners — both to figure out what they need and to build her relationships with them.”
Traister, Rebecca. “Hillary Clinton vs Herself: There is nothing simple about this candidacy or candidate.” The New York Magazine. May 30 2016.
Walsh, Joan. “Why I’m Supporting Hillary Clinton, With Joy and Without Apologies.” The Nation. January 27, 2016.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Important endorsements and editorials:
Washington Post Editorial Board. “The Hillary Clinton email story is out of control.” September 8, 2016. “Imagine how history would judge today’s Americans if, looking back at this election, the record showed that voters empowered a dangerous man because of . . . a minor email scandal. There is no equivalence between Ms. Clinton’s wrongs and Mr. Trump’s manifest unfitness for office.”
The Dallas Morning Star Editorial Board. “We recommend Hillary Clinton for president.” This newspaper has not recommended a Democrat for the nation’s highest office since before World War II — if you’re counting, that’s more than 75 years and nearly 20 elections.
On Donald Trump
In this New Yorker article by Jane Mayer, Tony Schwarts, the ghostwriter of Trump’s 1987 The Art of the Deal, explains his remorse for his role in promoting the myth of Trump’s success in business.
“I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”
“People are dispensable and disposable in Trump’s world.” If Trump is elected President, he warned, “the millions of people who voted for him and believe that he represents their interests will learn what anyone who deals closely with him already knows—that he couldn’t care less about them.”
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Featured photo from here
Disclaimer: The screening of this film does not constitute an endorsement or promotion of the film, nor of any views expressed therein or any association with The Film Committee, DAUK, Democrats Abroad or the Democratic Party. Screenings are solely conceived as educational activities: offering an opportunity for members to discuss issues.
Links to other organizations or publications imply neither endorsement of their policies nor any association with the Democratic Party or Democrats Abroad – UK.
