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June 13, 2018
o PinionAted
J udge
Socially Conscious Films Round-Out Fest
by
d arleen
o rtega
I spent five days last week at
the Seattle International Film
Festival, sampling an array of
what was on offer for Seattle’s
three-and-a-half week festival. A
few of these films will get a the-
atrical release, and many others
will appear in an online platform.
I reviewed six films last week;
here is the balance of what I saw.
In “The King,” documenta-
ry director Eugene Jarecki sets
out to examine the life of Elvis
Presley as a way of ruminating
on the current state--or, he would
say, decline--of the American
experiment. Prone to expan-
sive, well-researched premis-
es (like the rise of the drug war
and mass incarceration in “The
House I Live In”), Jarecki sets
this film in a series of journeys
to places significant to the King,
largely filmed inside Presley’s
Rolls Royce. Jarecki is accom-
panied by a series of passen-
gers-- friends who knew Presley,
“Silas” is a documentary that follows the determined Liberian activist Silas Siakor as he fights
musicians whom he influenced or
corruption and environmental degradation in his country. It’s one of the many socially conscious
who take a critical stance on his
documentaries and fiction films that were screened this year at the Seattle International Film Festival.
influential cultural appropriation
of African American music, and
self-appointed social commenta-
tors like Ethan Hawke. The aim
here is to understand the King’s
life and significance, but also to
mine that topic for what it has to
teach about America itself. Al-
though a bit overstuffed at times,
the film is mostly a compelling
rumination, accompanied by an
excellent soundtrack
“Silas” is a portrait of a truth
teller, Silas Siakor, whose energy,
intelligence, and determination
to fight corruption and environ-
mental degradation in Liberia
seems limitless. Liberia is so rich
in resources that it might well be
compared to Wakanda, yet it has
been plagued by a 25-year civil
war and unceasing corruption.
This documentary follows Sia-
kor’s activism during a five-year
period in which a new president,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, had swept
into office riding high hopes--in-
cluding Siakor’s--that she would
clean up the Liberian govern-
ment. Siakor’s relentless com-
mitment to exposing the truth,
even with the truth is disappoint-
ing, is quite inspiring, as is his
C ontinued on p age 15
Together, we do good things.
TM
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R
C alendar June 2018
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
11
12
13
14
15
E.T. Movie Pre-
miered In 1982
Robert Munsch
born, 1945
Anne Frank born,
1929
Magic Day
18
Chris Van Allsburg
born, 1949
International Picnic
Day
19
Juneteenth
Tasmanian Devil
Debuted in 1954
Mary Kate and
Ashley Olsen born,
1986
Eid al-Fitr, Muslim
National Flag Day
(U.S.)
‘Pop Goes the Wea-
sel’ Day
20
21
American Eagle
Day
Ice Cream Soda
Day
25
26
27
LEON Day - LEON
is NOEL spelled
backwards
Bicycle Patented In
1819
Toothbrush Invented
In 1498
Helen Keller Born in
1880
Melody for Happy
Birthday Song
Written in 1859
First Day of Sum-
mer
Fly a Kite Day
Power of a Smile
Day
22
National Fudge
Day
23
US Department of
Justice Established
in 1870
Theodore Taylor
born, 1922
Typewriter Patented
In 1868
29
30
28
Paul Bunyan Day
FRIDAY SATURDAY
16
17
First iPhone re-
leased, 2007
Camera Day
Meteor Day
National Organi-
zation of Women
Founded In 1966
Father’s Day
World Juggler’s Day
Eat Your Vegetables
Day
24
U.F.O. Day; First
documented UFO
sighting on this
day