Moonhowlings

Meet the Stars on MTV

S.B. 1070 has been tried once before. Learn the history anti-immigration lobbyists want us to forget.

On Sunday Sept. 26th at 8 PM ET / PT, a game-changing documentary about politics and immigration will be broadcast into 100 million homes.
“9500 Liberty” will premiere simultaneously on MTV2, MTV U, and MTV Tr3s (with Spanish subtitles), and America will see how ordinary citizens, Republicans, and Democrats in Northern Virginia join forces to combat extremism, and regain control of a county government.

MTV 360 presents the
WORLD TELEVISION PREMIERE of
9500 LIBERTY
Sunday Sept. 26th
8 PM ET / PT on MTV 2, MTV U,
& MTV Tr3s (with Spanish subtitles)

 

I hope we get to see the panel discussion with Corey and John Quinones. I will be online tonight during the film. We can use this thread for comments about the film. I am sorry we couldn’t meet as a group. Finding a place seemed pointless with so little get together interest. So…we can do it here.

The Washington Post reviewed 9500 Liberty for its upcoming MTV Premiere this Sunday Night. Perhaps this is the best review I have seen of our hometown film.

Washington Post staff writer David Montgomeryguides his reader audience to the point in the film where we see film maker Eric Byler testifying before the U.S. Human Rights Commission in December of 2007, at which point we see Byler’s point of view. Rather than saying “Ah Ha!”, Montgomery leads us around this shift from neutrality to the fact that the film returns to showing both sides of this bitter debate. He tells us that those with strong opinion on either side might walk away not quite satisfied with the end result.

David Montgomery’s review is posted in its entirety:

Read more…

The earth may be beginning to turn counterclockwise. There is a slight chance I might be in agreement with Corey Stewart, who just returned home from his trip to NYC where he was on the MTV panel regarding illegal immigration. He joined Annabel Park, Eric Byler, Paul Rodriguez, John Quiones, and others in a discussion led by Times Reporter Fernanda Santos. 

The panel discussion was a prelude to the premiere of 9500 Liberty, the award winning documentary directed by Byler and Parks.  According to the News and Messenger, Corey was nervous about going and felt that he might be getting set up.  He was afraid of MTV using footage to cast him in an unflattering light, completely out of context. 

The first showing of 9500 Liberty will be Sunday, Sept. 26 at 8:00 p.m. on MTV2, MTVU and Tr3s MTV.

Stewart obviously was pleasantly surprised:

“I didn’t expect there to be much common ground,” Stewart said. “But there at the end, much to my surprise, some of the panelists and I believe most of the audience agreed that if you are here illegally and then commit a crime and pose a danger to society, you should be deported.”

What’s to not agree with?  I don’t think any of us want to be rubbing elbows with criminals.  That is why we here at moonhowlings.net have supported the 287(g) program as well as the physical arrest resolution.   So if we are to take Corey at his word in the above statement, then yes, today the earth reverses its spin.  I agree with the above quote made by Corey Stewart.  I have always felt that way. 

Stewart doesn’t think that the MTV experience will garner him votes from young people.  I don’t agree there.  Young people are all over the political spectrum.  Perhaps if that panel discussion is shown and Corey illustrates that he is reaching out for common ground rather than crushing his opposition, he might pull in more votes than he thinks.

“9500 LIBERTY” TO PREMIERE ON MTV NETWORKS, PRESS SCREENING TONIGHT
Award-winning film on SB 1070 precursor will reach 100 million homes starting Sept. 26

All eyes are still on Prince William County as the residents of Arizona feel our pain at the Harkins Valley Art Theater near Phoenix.  The theater has been packed each night for screenings of 9500Liberty. Eric Byler has been in the Phoenix area for approximately a week now.  This afternoon he hosted a radio show with 3 Republican business people who disapprove of the law passed, SB 1070.

Many folks from Arizona now know all about 0ur county.  A write up in AZ newspaper Phoenix New Times revealed:

The film chronicles the heated battle over an Immigration Resolution (drafted by the same folks who brought us SB 1070), in Prince William County, Virginia that passed in 2008 and was quickly repealed because of devastating economic effects (read more about it here). 9500 Liberty captures both sides of the battle in Prince William County through numerous interviews and video clips, some of which provoked the audience at Harkins into both jeers and cheers.

For example, when a woman tells the Prince William County Board of District Supervisors that they must “Never forget 9/11 and who did that to us – illegals,” the audience at Harkins Valley Art let out a collective grumble. Minutes later, they roared in unified laughter when a man tells the Supervisors, “Don’t confuse the 9/11 with the 7-11.”

“If [co-director] Annabel [Park] were here, I know what she’d say,” Byler replied. “The biggest lesson is that the immigrants in our community are already integrated into the economy, because the economy does not discriminate based on your national origin. A dollar is a dollar.”

Congratulations to 9500 Liberty for their win at the St. Louis International Film Festival:  Best Documentary

From stltoday.com:

The prizewinners of the 18th annual St. Louis International Film festival were announced during the closing night party at the Moonrise Hotel on Sunday.

The audience-choice award winner was “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” The acclaimed film about an abused girl learning to read was also the audience choice at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals and seems assured of a slot in this year’s Oscar race.

But it was a close competition. By mere thousandths of a percentage point, “Precious” eked out a win over the Swiss/Italian romance “Marcello Marcello,” which was named best international film.

The award for best documentary went to “9500 Liberty,” which scrutinizes immigration policy and racial profiling.

An audience award is what it sounds like. It appears that 9500 Liberty was definitely running with the big dogs. Precious is doing quite well at the box office and can be seen at any theater.

The following interview with Anabel Park and Eric Byler was on tonight on Channel 4:

 

Congratulations to Eric and Anabel for winning the Best Documentary Award at the Charlotte Film Festival last night! The award is the Indy Truth Award for Best Documentary and is a very prestigious award. 

The film will show again at 3:30 on Sunday. Eric and Anabel were featured on two Charlotte NPR radio programs. Check them out at the 9500 Liberty website.

Here are the upcoming plans for these talented film makers:

Next stop, we will be premiering in DC on October 1st at the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival as the opening night film. You can buy tickets here for the screening and reception.

http://www.apafilm.org/festival-2009/9500-liberty/
This is our big hometown premiere screening with the “stars” from the film and a big after party so it is not to be missed if you are in the DC area.

This is the list of scheduled screenings including Prince William County, Honolulu, St. Louis, San Diego, Charlottesville, etc. We are adding more screenings including in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles in the coming weeks. http://9500liberty.com/screenings.html

Thank you for supporting us throughout these months. Some of you have been with us for nearly two years. In fact, the second-year anniversary of the creation of the 9500 Liberty YouTube Channel will be celebrated on October 9th with the residents of Prince William County with a special community screening of the film at St. Paul’s Church in Woodbridge.

 

Please plan on seeing the film. According the the website:

9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens. Alarmed by a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life showdown in the seat of county government

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