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DOCUMENTARY 1971: THE FILM ABOUT AN FBI OFFICE BREAK-IN WILL BE SCREENED, FOLLOWED BY COMMENTARY NYS Writers Institute, December 5, 2014
PROFILE Betty Medsger was a young reporter at the Washington Post in 1971 when she received from anonymous sources copies of stolen FBI files that revealed the existence of COINTELPRO, a secret and illegal program of spying on American citizens with the aim of suppressing political dissent and free speech. It represented the first time in American history that a journalist received and published secret government files (predating the Pentagon Papers by three months). Decades later, Medsger, a journalism professor at San Francisco State University, took it upon herself to track down the burglars and persuaded them to reveal their motives and identities to the world. Their story is told in her new book, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI (2014). The New York Times Book Review called it, “Impeccably researched, elegantly presented, engaging…” and said, “For those seeking a particularly egregious example of what can happen when secrecy gets out of hand, The Burglary is a natural place to begin.” Gabriel Rhodes is both an editor and a filmmaker. His work has premiered at Sundance and Cannes and has been broadcast on Sundance Channel, A&E, Animal Planet, CNN, PBS, and on the NPR radio show “This American Life.” His theatrical documentary credits include 1971: THE FILM (2014), Without Shepherds (2012), The Tillman Story (2009), and Control Room (2004). Three of his edited films, The Tillman Story, Quest for Honor (2008), and MY BLIND BROTHER (2003) were shortlisted for the Academy Awards. His commercial clients include Conde Nast, Google, Virgin America, YouTube, Harper Collins and Revlon. He received his Master’s Degree in Documentary Film from Stanford University in 2000. For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst. |