American political activist: hollywood, us gov’t feeding each other

Tehran (ISNA) - Iran’s 16th Resistance International Film Festival has held an interview with an acclaimed American political activist, David Swanson‫.

As an activist, Swanson co-founded the website After Downing Street (now WarIsACrime.org), based around the US congressional concern of the Downing Street memo‫.

Additionally, Swanson embarked on a campaign to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney through the now defunct website ConvictBushCheney.Org as well as contributing to the introduction of Dennis Kucinich’s The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush. Swanson has also aided in the organization of campaigns such as Velvet Revolution's opposition of the United States Chamber of Commerce and Tom J. Donohue, and October2011.Org's Occupy Washington movement‫.

As an author, Swanson has written several books; Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union (2009), War Is a Lie (2010), When the World Outlawed War (2011) and War No More: The Case for Abolition (2013). Swanson is the host of the radio show Talk Nation Radio‫.

In 2018 Swanson was awarded the US Peace Prize by the US Peace Memorial Foundation for inspiring antiwar leadership, writings, strategies, and organizations that help to create a culture of peace‫.

Swanson currently blogs through various political sites, including his own co-founded site, WarIsACrime.Org and Democrats.com, where he serves as the Washington Director. He also writes at his personal website DavidSwanson.Org‫.

The excerpt of the interview follows‫:

Question: What do you think about the role of independent producers and directors to promote the truth, peace and reality via an independent film festival such as Resistance Film Festival? Is it possible at all while we see the US hegemonic hollywoodian invasions‫?

Answer: Given to the fact that at present most people in the world are staying at their home due to the spread of coronavirus, and doing their jobs online. In the meantime, the neutrality and openness of the internet is indispensable. It is also necessary to end the sanctions, because imposing sanctions on people is considered as public punishment and immoral measure aimed at sowing discord among people and hindering the people’s interactions in the society‫.

The US mass media are under influence of small group of companies that have very limited political perspective‫.

Question: Why in Hollywood generally we face that much hatred of Iranians and Muslims and what’s in your eyes the true way of reacting to that Islamophobia and Iranophobia‫?

Answer: The world has faced racism, prejudice and violence after the end of war‫.

Certainly during the US war, the racism violence has been spread in this country‫.

Hollywood and US government are feeding each other‫.

Many of Hollywood films are being produced in collaboration with the US Army or other agencies which are affiliated to them.  These films are usually interesting for huge number of audiences and illiterate people‫.

Question: What’s your view on the perspectives that Iranian films give to the world? How about those which have been awarded by Oscar, Cannes, Berlin or other western film festivals? Do you think there’s a political tendency to choose specific films from Iran or other Muslim majority countries, which present these societies in the same way that West’s mainstream media do‫?

Answer: I am not an expert in this field, but such a desire to portrait the negative points in different countries are quite common. However, I think that a proper world would be shaped if the people who are referred to the anti-Iranian propaganda have a fair viewpoint about such films‫.

Question: Can you please mention five topics that American and European films don’t pay attention to and they should‫?

Answer: I think the subjects like nuclear issues, the lies related to Iran, Russia, South Korea, Libya and the regional and environmental dangers, weaponry industry as well as non-violent activities should be addressed in their films‫.

So far 3,914 works have been submitted to the 16th Resistance International Film Festival’s secretariat‫.

According to the festival’s Public Relations and Information Centre, so far 3, 914 works including 923 works are in "Health Defenders," 2,516 in "Main Competition," 324 in "Resistance Prominent Martyr", and 151 "Narrations of Pen” have been sent to the event‫.

The week-long first section of the festival comprising "Health Defenders" and "festival was wrapped up on Sept 27 and the second round is slated to be held on November 21–27.