Living Free NYC Big City, Small Pockets, No Problem! When: Wednesday, September 11th 2013
Time: 6:30PM Tickets available for pick-up
7:30PM Film Begins
Where: 144 W. 65th St., New York
Cost: Free
Free tickets will be distributed at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center box office (144 West 65 Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam) on a first-come, first-served basis starting one hour prior to the screening. Limit one complimentary ticket per person, subject to availability.
Rooftop Films alum Jamie Meltzer brings his latest film Informant to the Film Society of Lincoln Center this week. Catch a free sneak preview on Wednesday September 11, 7:30pm, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. Tickets will be distributed at the box office starting one hour before the screening. Seating is on a first come, first served basis and admission is not guaranteed.
Screening will be followed by a discussion with director Jamie Meltzer and subjects Brandon Darby and David McKay. (McKay will join via Skype). This is the first time that Darby and McKay will discuss the complete story of Brandon’s role as an FBI informant and the series of events that led to McKay’s imprisonment. The discussion will be moderated by journalist / NPR contributor Michael May.
About the film:
Informant is a fascinating portrait of Brandon Darby, a radical left-wing activist turned FBI informant. In 2005, Darby became an overnight hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a stranded friend. Soon after, he co-founded Common Ground, a successful grassroots relief organization.
But over the next few years, he began hiding a shocking secret. After two young protestors, David McKay and Bradley Crowder, were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby revealed he had been instrumental in their indictment as an FBI informant.
Today, having renounced his left-wing past, he is a tea-party darling who writes regularly for the right-leaning website Breitbart.com. The only film with access to Darby since his public confession, Informant meticulously constructs a picture of his life – before and after the many death threats he has received – through interviews and tense reenactments starring Darby himself. Darby’s version of events is accompanied – and often contradicted – by evidence from acquaintances and expert commentators, posing complicated questions about trust and the nature of reality.
As David Hanners of St. Paul Pioneer Press suggests, “When you interview people about Brandon Darby, you realize that everyone has a different idea of who he is.” In addition to trying to unlock the mystery of Brandon Darby, Informant offers a powerful insider look at the hidden use of informants in contemporary America – an especially timely issue in light of the recent leaks about government surveillance.
Informant will open at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in New York and the Laemmle Noho Theater in Los Angeles Friday, September 13, followed by additional dates around the country. Also, the film will be available beginning September 13 on iTunes. For more information visit informantdoc.com or www.musicboxfilms.com
