NOMINATIONS FOR POLITICAL FILM SOCIETY AWARDS NARROWED TO FIVE PER CATEGORY
During January, Political Film Society members reduced the many films nominated for awards during the year 2000 to five nominations per category. The final ballot below has a threefold choice—yes, no, or undecided. To refresh your memory, consult reviews posted during 2000.
FINAL BALLOT (FOR MEMBERS ONLY)
Instructions: Mark an X between the parentheses for the film that you believe best promotes political consciousness within each of the following categories. (Only one “Yes” for each category):
| DEMOCRACY | YES | NO | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| The Contender | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | depicts sexual McCarthyism |
| Human Resources | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | French workers protest their obsolescence |
| The Hurricane | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | how lawyers freed an innocent Black |
| Steal This Movie! | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Abbie Hoffman denied a peaceful protest |
| Sunshine | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | dictatorships force ethnic assimilation |
| EXPOSÉ | YES | NO | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| Before Night Falls | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Cuban hypocrisy about homosexuality |
| Erin Brockovich | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | how a company poisoned water |
| The Hurricane | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | police frame-up of innocent Black man |
| Thirteen Days | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | JFK foiled Pentagon’s plan for nuclear war |
| Traffic | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | hypocrisy of the War on Drugs |
| HUMAN RIGHTS | YES | NO | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| Before Night Falls | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | Castro’s discrimination against writers, gays |
| The Contender | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | a woman fights for sexual privacy |
| The Hurricane | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | exonerating a Black man framed for murder |
| It All Starts Today | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | needless deaths due to French welfare cuts |
| Remember the Titans | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | how desegregation worked in Alexandria |
| PEACE | YES | NO | UNDECIDED | CONTENT |
| It’s the Rage | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | easily available handguns kill too many |
| Kippur | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | battlefield carnage of Yom Kippur War |
| The Terrorist | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | how youth are trained to suicide missions |
| Thirteen Days | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | how nuclear war was averted in 1962 |
| Titanic Town | ( ) | ( ) | ( ) | a peace activist stirs up Northern Ireland |
After marking your ballot, mail to the above address or email to [email protected] by March 1. Results of the balloting for all categories will be sent to members by March 5.
OTHER FILMS TO WATCH
At the end of the year 2000, three films were released that tried to bring a famous novel to the screen. Filmviewers may find O Brother, Where Art Thou? to be an amusing rendition of Homer’s Ulysses. Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth deals with issues of social class from a feminist perspective. The Claim transforms Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge to a setting in a Gold Rush town in California. For reviews of these films, see the Political Film Society website.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETS MARCH 3
The Political Film Society Board of Directors will meet to count ballots for best films of the year 2000 at 8481 Allenwood Road, Los Angeles, on March 3 at 7:30 p.m. All Society members are invited. Refreshments will be served.