The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Lawyers Guild has announced a benefit screening of America is Waiting, a documentary about the inauguration protests in Washington DC last January.
From their announcement : On January 20, 2017, racist billionaire Donald J. Trump was sworn into office as President of the United States. Thousands of protesters flocked to DC to disrupt the inauguration, and to express their disgust and outrage at the idea a bigoted serial assaulter running the country. In response the DC police, in violation of DC law, their own policy, and the US Constitution, kettled and arrested over 200 participants in a protest march at which a handful of windows were broken. Most of those arrested are now facing federal felony charges that could potentially land them in prison for over 50 years.
Director Georg Koszulinski’s film ‘America is Waiting’ serves as a chronicle of the day’s events, employing effective approaches to observational documentary coupled with on-the-street interviews with protesters and pro-Trump supporters alike. By presenting the day’s events in reverse chronological order, the film reflects on the nature of constructed memory, image making, and the production of meaning across an historic event, calling into question the ways in which narratives of historical events are shaped and condensed within popular discourse.
The event will take place in Pitt Law School’s Barco Law Building, 3900 Forbes Avenue, in room 107 at 5:00 PM on January 20. There is a $5 to $15 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. All proceeds will go to the legal defense of protesters arrested at the inauguration.