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 | AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US
| East Coast Premiere |
| Winner: SPECIAL JURY AWARD: WORLD SOCIAL JUSTICE |
| Cast: | George Takei, Satsuki Ina, Dale Minami | | Crew: | Producers: Abby Ginzberg, Jonathan Logan (Executive Producer) - Screenwriters: - Directors of Photography: Ashley James, Vicente Franco - Editor: Ken Schneider
| | Email: | abbyginzberg gmail.com | | web: | www.thentheycamedoc.com |
synopsis
After calling for a Muslim registry and trying to enact an immigration ban against people from Muslim majority countries, the Trump administration has cited the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as the precedent. As the documentary And Then They Came for Us demonstrates, the registration and incarceration of Japanese Americans was one of the worst violations of constitutional rights in American history. The U.S. government lied about the threat of espionage to justify the incarceration. Not a single person was ever convicted of espionage or treason. As the U.S. commemorates the 76th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 which was signed by President Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942, the film documents through the photos taken by Dorothea Lange and others, the damage this order did to 120,000 people, two thirds of whom were American citizens. Featuring actor and activist, George Takei and many other Japanese Americans who were incarcerated, And Then They Came for Us, demonstrates the importance of speaking up against any efforts to register or ban Muslims today. Knowing our history is the first step in making sure we do not repeat it. The constitutionality of the current Muslim ban is pending before the US Supreme Court and there is good reason to worry about history repeating itself if the ban is upheld. And Then They Came for Us is a cautionary tale for these dark times.
director
Abby Ginzberg, is a Peabody award-winning director who has been producing documentaries about race and social justice for the past 30 years. She is the co-producer and co-director (with Frank Dawson) of Agents of Change, which premiered at the 2016 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, winning the Jury and the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary.
Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa won a Peabody award in 2015 and has screened at film festivals around the world winning four audience awards for Best Documentary. It was an Official Selection at Full Frame, AFI Docs, Hot Springs, Vermont International DOC NYC, Encounters, United Nations, Vancouver South African and Toronto South African Film Festivals and Screen Africa in London. It will be broadcast on public television in July, 2016.
Abby was the Consulting Producer on The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, (produced by Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday) which was nominated for an Oscar® in the Short Doc category in 2012, premiered at Sundance in 2011 and was broadcast on POV.
Abby's documentaries, Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey and Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice (about an African American and Latino judge) have aired on public television and been screened at film festivals across the United States and abroad and won numerous awards, including a Silver Gavel and CINE Golden Eagle for Soul of Justice.
Ken Schneider has edited over 35 feature-length documentaries, focusing on war and peace, human rights, artists' lives, untold American histories, and contemporary social issues. Ken co-edited the Oscar-nominated Regret To Inform, described by the NY Times as "unforgettable...exquisitely filmed, edited and scored." His films have screened on PBS' American Masters, POV, Independent Lens, Frontline, HBO, Showtime, in television and film festivals worldwide, and have been honored by Emmys, two Peabodys, a Columbia-Dupont, IDA awards, an Indie Spirit, top awards at Sundance, other major festival awards, and have been nominated for an Oscar and additional Emmys.
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