Hey folks, Harry here… every now and again – there’s a perfect day at a film festival. A day where every single film just knocks it out of the park and you’re left stunned. Today was one of those days.

Sunday night when I got in from the fest I was exhausted. Just dead to the world. Couldn’t focus, but I remember I told Dad that we could sleep late, because I didn’t think there was much of anything I was hot to see on Monday at the South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival. However, because I know me, and know that I can space cadet out a film or two, I decided to make sure, one last time. So I pulled up the schedule and realized… Ah hell, Monday is the best scheduled day of the entire fest, or at least that was my prediction.

So we got up about 5 hours earlier than previously planned and went down to the amazing PARAMOUT THEATER here in Austin, with the magic ushers, especially PAT. Well, as Dad dropped me off, I told him… only the first film was a sure thing. I had no idea how great that first film would be.

11:45am – THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED

Documentary – U.S. Premiere

Director/Photographers – Kim Bartley & Donnacha O’Briain

Possibly the most important documentary of 2003, though the only place you’ll see it in this country is most likely to be film festivals, as there isn’t a studio in the United States with the balls to release it, or the willingness to draw the steam and fire they’d get from the Bush Administration and his supporters for marketing or distributing it. Nor is there a major television network that’ll broadcast it. It isn’t artistic censorship, but it is political & more importantly a result of economic censorship.

What is THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED?

It is perhaps the best and most remarkable at the time of history documentary I have ever seen. Capturing every side of a remarkable coup that occurred in Venezuela where the Democratically elected President Hugo Chavez, a true man of the people of Venezuela, was captured and came very close to disappearing from the face of the planet, due to his attacks on the Bush Administration’s collateral damage in Afghanistan in his War On Terrorism. And two, his position on the oil supply of Venezuela (3rd Largest Producer of Oil in the World!), so that the wealth of Venezuela would help to bring education, medicine and enlightenment to the peoples of his country.

You see, Chavez is hugely popular in Venezuela where he has a weekly television program and radio program where the citizens of his country can call in and talk with their President. He listens to their problems, tries to explain the government to them and takes notes. He teaches the people of Venezuela to learn about their constitution, that it is “the people’s book” and rights given in there are guaranteed to all men and women no matter of their place in society. He believes in the system of government that elected him and is a full supporter of it.

Now I’ll admit quite pointedly that I am a liberal by nature with some conservative streaks through me. I look for “the rest of the story” that isn’t coming from the “one time liberal media” of this country, which is now mainly owned by arch-conservative corporate powers today. Finding out who is getting the contracts to “rebuild” Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries that we are going after. Noticing headlines that are deliberately created to provoke instant reactions and being disgusted with it all. Much of my disgust comes from me trying to piece together stories that are related, though never connected, or rarely connected, in the newspapers. Something I learned from reading Woodward & Bernstein’s ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN. However, this documentary isn’t about theories, isn’t about going back after something has happened and trying to piece it together. Oh no.

Kim Bartley and Donnacha O’Briain were making a huge documentary on President Hugo Chavez and the current state of Venezuela in the first half of 2002. They were given total access to his presidency, him and his people. They also had free reign to interview folks on the street, the opposition. Essentially to take a snap shot of what Venezuela was at that time. The first part of the documentary shows that Chavez is very much being considered the Washington of Venezuela, the man that is returning power and giving hope and education to the people of his country. The poor believe in him and the rich seemingly loathe him. In the middle of their 4th month of coverage. When suddenly the powers that be rose against him and took him away.

This documentary captures live on tape everything that happened, all the information as it was coming in. It shows how Chavez knowing about the capabilities of the oil and media powers in Venezuela and their tactics, uses his one channel to the people… Channel 8 – State Television, to give his side of what is happening. Meanwhile the conservatives controlled 5 “private stations” in the country that were constantly calling him a communist, the next Castro, essentially demonizing him. The leader of the opposition flew to Washington to meet with President Bush and his advisors. Upon returning from that meeting a renewed vehemence against Chavez began. Calling for a march on the State Oil area in Caracas, Venezuela.

The people of Venezuela in response to this gathering decided to gather in front of the Presidential Palace to voice their support of the President and his policies. Meanwhile at the other meeting, they began to FIRE UP the gathers to “Go Get Chavez Out Of The Palace.” Chavez’s people on State Television begin pleading with the opposition party not to do this, because of the 10s of thousands of supporters in front of his palace and how this action was irresponsible and liable to provoke a tragedy.

Chavez had a small number of Army types that were attempting to keep the two sides from actual clashing. All of this being captured by the “Private” media as well as the “State” media and of course there was also the cameras of Kim Bartley and Donnacio O’Briain. Snipers from over a half mile away begin firing upon the heads of the opposition demonstrators. Killing 10 and the panic caused over a hundred injuries.

The “Private” media edits the footage to show Chavez’s supporters firing handguns over a bridge wall off camera, then edit that together with the carnage of the slain, claiming that Chavez’s supporters were gunning down the Opposition’s “Peaceful” demonstration. Using this footage and lining a few pockets, the Opposition gains the support of a few army generals and the head of Venezuela’s Navy. The Coup is set in motion. First, the State Television was taken over. Suddenly on Private Television they begin announcing that the murderous Chavez has been ousted.

We’re in the palace watching this footage with the Heads of State as they see the Coup taking shape. To save the lives of the people in the Palace… Department heads, secretaries, the vice-president, the camera crew shooting this… He is taken away by the generals, and nobody knows what happened to him.

Suddenly, just a run of the mill documentary on the life of a South American President was becoming a floor plan and blueprint for how the United States uses and manipulates foreign powers into overthrowing any leader… be it Democratically elected or not. Solely to protect its own interest instead of those of the indigenous peoples from whom the materials we desire are to be taken.

I won’t spoil the rest of the documentary, but it simply must be seen. It plays this Saturday night here in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theater. I’ll be watching it again. It is simply the most amazing and infuriating documentary I’ve ever seen. This isn’t like Michael Moore’s BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, which while being a documentary in presentation, actually comes across as more of a persuasive speech by Michael Moore, and violates some of the rules of the documentary form, but was an excellent film despite that. This Documentary covers all sides. Presents evidence captured, but never shown by our media, never discussed in our newspapers, and wholly ignored by Colin Powell and the State Department.

Do they tell us that the man that assumed power of Venezuela, the man that had met with President Bush and was involved at the top of the Oil industry in Venezuela, that his first act as the “democratic” self-appointed leader of Venezuela was to announce on television that he was disbanding the Grand Assembly (Congress), the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and all the other bastions of a Democracy, replacing it with a Dictatorship? This was the man that just days before was in the White House of our country, discussing the future of Venezuela with OUR current President. This same man is now living in Florida.

If you ever saw WACO: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, this… this is far more clear, because imagine if one of the documentary people or two, had been inside the Branch Davidian Compound. Imagine it was all being laid bare… and everything we were led to believe was false for a fact, not supposition, but actual real tangible evidence.

And once you see this Documentary, which has been shown in other countries… ahem… Looking at Colin Powell and trusting him, well, it just kind of becomes impossible. Believing anyone from this administration, it’s just too much to ask. What they attempted to do in Venezuela is a shame. And any true American that watches this documentary and watches the case as both sides live it… you just. You can not imagine how disgusting it makes one feel. We’re not about colonialism, that’s why we founded the United States of America, was to fight that, right? To get free of powers that tax and control our country without elected representation, yet here… here clearly we are defying EVERYTHING on which this country was founded. Colin Powell has the audacity in this documentary to say that he does not believe President Chavez has the best interests of the United States as his most important Priority. God forbid he care for his own country first! All of this was for the sake of oil. Back in the days of the original King George, it had to do with spices, hemp, cotton and foods.

If you get a chance to see this film, do not miss it. Not one person in the 200 or so I’ve talked to today that have seen it have called it anything less than brilliant. Even the conservative silver-haired lady I talked to today, who was Republican felt disgusted by what she saw. Unfortunately, THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED isn’t bloody likely of being televised in this country anytime soon, so watch your local film festivals and pray that one day we’ll be in a country that will put a documentary like this in theaters everywhere. Filmmaking rarely does the three magic things that film can do. Inform, Persuade and ENTERTAIN. This movie does!

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