VOTING BEGINS ON NOMINEES FOR BEST POLITICAL FILMS OF 2014
During 2015, 25 films were nominated in the four categories for Political Film Society awards, though only 5 for Democracy (Jimmy’s Hall, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Straight Outta Compton, The 33, Timbuktu) and 3 for Peace (Beasts of No Nation, Tangerines, Timbuktu). Political Film Society rules require final balloting for only the top 5 in each category, so ballots below enable members to narrow the longer lists for Exposé and Human Rights films. If you feel that the film deserves serious consideration, mark your ballot ACCEPT. If inappropriate, mark DROP. If you did not see a film, put an X for UNDECIDED. Polls close at midnight January 31. If the emailed ballot is difficult to read, kindly go to our website.
For EXPOSÉ films, bringing to prominence lesser known facts that raise political consciousness, select up to 5 films as ACCEPT, the rest either as films that should be dropped or those where you have no opinion:
| FILM TITLE | ACCEPT | DROP | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| The Danish Girl | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | What happens when a man realizes that inside he is really a female. |
| Experimenter | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Stanley Milgram before and after his experiment on “obedience” |
| The Girl King | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Why Sweden’s Queen Kristina abdicated in the mid-1600s |
| Heneral Luna | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Why the Philippines lost the war for independence with the United States |
| Jimmy’s Hall | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Trying to bring democracy to feudalistic Ireland after World War I |
| Labyrinth of Lies | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How Germans finally prosecuted war criminals in the 1960s |
| Mediterranea | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Why African refugees rioted in Italy during 2010 after perilous trips |
| Noble | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | A woman saves orphans in Vietnam |
| Spotlight | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Investigative journalism at its best |
| Straight Outta Compton | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The origin of angry Black rap music |
| Truth | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Difficulty of investigative reporting |
| Woman in Gold | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | A woman’s pursuit of art stolen from her family by Nazis |
For films that promote human rights, select up to 5 films as ACCEPT, the rest either as films that should be dropped or those where you have no opinion:
| FILM TITLE | ACCEPT | DROP | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| The Danish Girl | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How the transgendered are discriminated against. |
| Dukhtar (Daughter) | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | A 10-year-old girl escapes from an arranged marriage in northern Pakistan |
| Freeheld | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How a lesbian got inheritance rights for her domestic partner |
| Labyrinth of Lies | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How Germans covered up war crimes after Nuremberg |
| Mustang | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How girls in rural Turkey are forced to marry and stay chaste |
| Noble | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The medical impact of Agent Orange on children in Vietnam |
| Son of Saul | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The inside of a Nazi death camp is graphically portrayed. |
| Spotlight | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The church tries to cover up priests who sexually abuse children |
| The Stanford Prison Experiment | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How students easily engaged in torture when given the power |
| Stonewall | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How drag queens began the gay rights revolution |
| Straight Outta Compton | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How Black rappers protested police harassment |
| Suffragette | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How women got the vote after quite a struggle in England |
| The 33 | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Unsafe working conditions for miners. |
| Timbuktu | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | How Islamic terrorists take over a peaceful Muslim community |
| Trumbo | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | The Hollywood blacklist kept loyal Americans from working |
| Woman in Gold | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Austria refuses to return art stolen by Nazis to its Jewish owner |
The Political Film Society Board of Directors will meet on Tuesday, February 1, at 9 a.m. (8481 Allenwood Road, LA 90046) to count ballots. Final ballots, to be posted that night, will have a deadline of February 28. Winners will be announced March 1 after a Board of Directors meeting, same place at 9 a.m.