, music mogul, entrepreneur, and vegan animal
advocate will host the New York premiere of the independent feature film
Bold Native, the first fiction film about the Animal Liberation Front
(ALF), a non-centralized group of animal liberators and economic saboteurs
that the FBI calls their top domestic terrorist priority. This special press
event and screening will be held on Monday July 26 at 6 p.m. at Anthology
Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue (at 2nd Street), in New York City. Doors
will open to members of the press at 6 p.m. and the film will begin at 7
p.m. Tickets are still available for the 9:15 p.m. screening.
In Bold Native, Charlie Cranehill (newcomer Joaquin Pastor), an
ALF member wanted by the government for domestic terrorism, emerges from the
underground to coordinate a nationwide action, while his CEO father
(Randolph Mantooth, Emergency) tries to find him before the FBI does.
Simultaneously, a young idealist campaigns for more humane treatment of
farmed animals on behalf of a large nonprofit organization, and a woman from
Charlie's past threatens to undermine his plans.
"We need more creative, fun, impassioned and entertaining movies
like Bold Native to drive the important message of animal rights to
the masses, " Simmons said.
The film reflects a growing cultural debate about the use of animals for
food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research. It introduces
viewers to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) of 2006, a law which
enables the prosecution of activists as terrorists if their actions result
in economic damage to corporations in animal industries like factory farms,
slaughterhouses, research labs or fur farms. In addition to narrative
storytelling, the film incorporates undercover footage from labs, farms, and
real-life animal liberations for stunning realism.
"The animal rights movement is unique both in seeking to endow rights to
sentient beings currently classified as property, and in terms of government
targeting, indicting and imprisoning activists, even for involvement in
above-ground, constitutionally protected protest activity," said producer
Casey Suchan. "The ALF does break the law, but they outright forbid any
action that might cause harm to humans or non-humans -- a track record
unmatched by even the FBI itself."
"Bold Native is first and foremost an adventure story about
people who risk their freedom for the lives of the innocent and
defenseless," said writer/director Denis Hennelly. "While it's a film about
a serious subject, it's also a celebration of life, so it has a sense of
humor and playfulness that people don't expect."
Simmons will be available for interview and photos at 6:15 p.m.
and will introduce the film at 7 p.m. A second screening will begin at 9:15
p.m. Following each screening, there will be a Q&A with Suchan, Hennelly,
and stars Joaquin Pastor and Nik Tyler and social justice activist Andy
Stepanian, who served three years for nonviolent activism that targeted an
animal research lab.
About Open Road Films Open Road Films develops and
produces quality movies across several genres. Prior to Bold Native,
its most recent film was Rock The Bells, a critically acclaimed
documentary on the final performance of hip-hop artists Wu-Tang Clan prior
to the death of frontman Ol' Dirty Bastard. Rock The Bells earned
comparisons to Woodstock and Gimme Shelter and has been
called the best film about hip-hop ever made. Whether documentary or
narrative, Open Road Films chooses experience over comfort, daring over
safety, and mythology over conventional wisdom.
For press passes please contact
rsvp@boldnative.com
with "NY Press" in the subject line. To schedule an advance interview with
Russell Simmons, Casey Suchan, Denis Hennley, Joaquin Pastor, Nik Tyler, or
Andy Stepanian please email
press@sparrowmedia.net with "BN Interview" in the subject line.
Here's a preview of the Bold Native trailer:
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, stunned by the content, 24
June 2010
Author: Shaun Ivory
from United States As the devoted father of a budding animal rights
activist who is soon leaving for college, I am spending a few days at an
animal rights conference to enjoy a few days with her before she goes to
college and dyes her hair blue.
On the first night of the conference,
I saw this movie surrounded by "the choir" I expected this movie to be
"preaching" to. I didn't expect much from the movie itself. I was prepared
to sit through a "labor of love" that was going to club me senseless with a
heavy-handed agenda.
What I got instead was a well-written,
well-acted, dramatic and surprising movie that often moved me to tears. The
characters were all believable, and I didn't notice any of the distracting
low-budget gaffes that plague so many movies like this one.
If I have
any complaint, it was the non-linear sequence of the movie. I didn't figure
out why he was orchestrating the climax until the movie itself pointed out
the timeline and his motivation. I found myself confused, at times, about
past and present.
I was already sympathetic to the message, but this
movie has pushed me closer to accepting the challenge of living a vegan
lifestyle. I think this movie has the power to change people in ways that
horrifying documentary footage can't, because you are drawn into the
struggle, instead of just being repelled by the reality of animal cruelty.
I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who loves animals,
regardless of how their lifestyle or ideology.
Oh, and that pig was
cute!
Great film!, 17 June 2010
Author:
hchandler-768-62140 from Los
Angeles, United States I was blown away by this little indie flick. It's
thought-provoking, inspiring, suspenseful and engaging. I hope this gets
wide release; it's a very nicely done piece of fictional activism.
In
addition to the fictional story line, viewers will learn about selected
forms of real-world animal exploitation. Without understanding this, you
might have a hard time understanding why the characters do what they do.
This film addresses various approaches to activism, and does pass
judgment on the effectiveness of some. The cast seemed perfect for their
roles and appeared to really identify with their characters.
I docked
the film a little for one intimate scene that I thought went on too long and
was actually unnecessary. Although it may not be perfect, this is still an
amazing film that I won't soon forget.
thought provoking, can't wait to see it again, 5 August 2010
Author: joenapalm-810-156230 from
United States I also saw it at an animal rights conference. I would like
to see it at least three more times. Once around friends who are not tuned
into the concept of Animal Rights to hear their perspectives on it because I
think that is who it is written for. Once around friends who are tuned into
Animal Rights so I can see their reaction, and finally just sitting at home
by myself so I can pause and rewind and just enjoy.
There aren't that
many movies I want to see more than once and the ones that I do tend to be
escapist. Instead this movie makes me think, holds my interest, and actually
makes me want to discuss it.
I can't wait for it to come out on DVD.
Insightful, informative, entertaining, and most importantly:
challenging, 1 July 2010
Author:
Greg Bennick from United States Bold Native offers a lot for viewers
to explore: good characters, intensive dialogue, dramatic editing, and a
story line which dives deeply into a subject often seen as too extreme for
the general public.
This film will inspire many important
conversations, both amongst seasoned activists discussing tactics, ethics
and methods, but more importantly amongst the uninitiated: those who have
never considered animal cruelty as being something related to our food and
lifestyle choices.
This has been a good year for films involving
compassion towards animals, with the success of The Cove driving people
towards thinking about animal cruelty in ways they might not have before.
Still, people in the USA can watch that movie from afar in a way, thinking
all throughout that animal cruelty is something which happens "over there"
and not in close proximity to the comforts and norms of our own day to day
lives.
What Bold Native does is to make the issue of animal cruelty
immediate and engaging, by offering us a narrative about characters that are
relatable and likable, in a story line that is believable, while at the same
time showing throughout genuine footage of actual animal barbarism that
isn't an overbearing onslaught like a propaganda video. Instead this intense
footage is used sparingly and tastefully amidst the narrative, shocking to
those who might be unaware of what is truly going on behind the food and
clothing industries, and horrifying enough to hammer home the point that
animal cruelty is happening all around us, everyday. The film poses a
challenge to us: that if what we see is abhorrent and if we feel compelled
to respond, that it is up to us to engage the issue directly, in whatever
capacity we deem appropriate.
This is an undeniably challenging film.
Groundbreaking political thriller. The first of it's kind in the
hopefully new animal rights/liberation genre..., 6 August 2010
Author: Philip Steir from Venice, CA
Bold Native is not an animal rights documentary. This is a groundbreaking,
scripted film that portrays the complicated issues facing today's animal
rights activists. The movie is a first of it's kind in the sense that it
deals with the many controversial aspects, different strategies and the wide
variety of advocacy positions that exist side by side in the modern animal
welfare/rights/liberation movement. No other film has engaged itself with
these topics using fiction, hypothetical situations, character development
and a suspenseful storyline. This movie also exposes an important fact...
that we all exist in a time where corporations, in alliance with our
government, are cowardly using the fears of the masses regarding terrorism,
to silence the free speech of those humans standing up for the non human
animal individuals being tortured, mutilated and brutally killed by the same
corporations.
No other scripted film has dealt with the despicable
and little known federal law called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act
which was set up by the corporations (industries who profit from killing
animals) by paying off elected politicians. No other film has concerned
itself with the emotional, psychological, compassionate and political
motivations of so many human beings who risk their own freedom to fight for
and liberate the nearly billions of non humans who are oppressed and killed
every day. It's nearly impossible to create anything new in the world of
film that hasn't been done before. Hollywood has been going out of its way
to make sure that everything that it churns out.... has been made two or
three times before and 'focused grouped' to never ending insanity. Yet, Bold
Native stands out as original among everything else recently released by the
big machine that creates the same movies over and over. This is bold
filmmaking to say the least.
The films logo of the HOPE piglet is a
wonderful metaphor for the future of a possible state of the world. A state
of the world where liberating the other animals from oppression and fighting
for their rights will one day be seen as rational, sane and just. But the
logo might also represent hope for a new more meaningful filmmaking that
will hopefully start to include themes about the injustice and prejudices
which the other species of the world must endure under human chauvinism.
Bold Native is the essence/definition of great revolutionary filmmaking and
real HOPE.
Come on Hollywood....get on board!
Excellent Movie, 11 July 2010
Author:
ckhawkins from Portland, OR I saw
this movie in Portland, as part of the Let Live festival. I wasn't sure what
to expect, but I honestly didn't have high hopes. I was very pleasantly
surprised. It's content is serious and thought provoking, while also being
witty and fun. The acting and film quality were really great. I think I
expected it to have the air of a fictional documentary, which it did not,
and I was glad.
I think this is a movie for everyone, not just
animal rights activists.
I did not have any problem following the
movie in the time line it was presented, as another reader pointed out. I
really loved every bit of it. Yay Bold Native!
