Coming to NYC’s reRun Gstropub Theater for a one-week run this Friday, February 24: HOW TO START A REVOLUTION
Ruaridh Arrow’s portrait of Nobel Prize winner Gene Sharp had its world premiere in Sharp’s hometown at the Boston Film Festival last Fall, where it claimed Best Documentary. It has gone on to screen at a number of other fests, including Raindance (another Best Doc win), CPH:DOX, SF Documentary, and the United Nations Association Film Festival, among others. It has also been screened by various Occupy movements in recent months.
I profiled the film while in post-production right after its successful Kickstarter campaign here. The finished film successfully balances Sharp’s story with those of various nonviolent struggles around the globe that were influenced by his writings, including the widely disseminated and translated FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY. Split into seven lessons, from “Plan a strategy” to “Don’t give up,” the doc explores in parallel the work Sharp and his collaborators, Vietnam veteran Robert Helvey and Afghani refugee Jamila Raqib, do as part of the Albert Einstein Institution, and the efforts of revolutionaries in diverse places like the Ukraine and Serbia to free their countries from tyranny. Sharp emerges as a thoughtful man of principles, clearly nonplussed by notions of personal fame or accusations that he has taken credit for successful revolutionary movements – instead, he presents himself as committed to helping provide information and tactics that have been proven alternatives to violent uprisings. While the film has a tendency of being overscored and talking heads heavy, its message transcends these minor issues, and provides powerful testimony that deserves a wide audience.
what (not) to doc 