Running Time: 90 & 60 mins
Year: 2019

synopsis

A democracy should protect its citizens, especially the most vulnerable among them, but increasingly the United States is failing to do so. This investigative and persuasive documentary blends the insights of philosophers, authors and journalists with the experiences of citizens of the Rust Belt in the U.S. Midwest, where the steel industry once flourished, but where closures and outsourcing have left urban areas desolate and hopeless. It’s here that Donald Trump finds some of his most fervent supporters, as he’s not considered part of the hated Washington establishment.

Journalist Chris Hedges, argues that the crisis predates Donald Trump’s election by many years. Like his source of inspiration, the Canadian philosopher John Ralston Saul, Hedges regards Trump as the symptom rather than the disease. Decades ago, U.S. democracy began selling its soul to big corporations. Lobbyists and corporatism took control in Washington, gradually undermining the will of the people. Journalist Naomi Klein recently described Trump’s administration as a “corporate coup d’état”. Hedges and Ralston Saul argue that the real coup took place long before.

Featuring: Chris Hedges, John Ralston Saul, Cornel West, Sarah Jaffe, Lee Fang, Maude Barlow, Phillip Martin

Credits

Director Fred Peabody
Producers Peter Raymont
Executive Producers Peter Raymont, Fred Peabody, Steve Ord, Jeff Cohen, Hans Robert Eisenhauer

Produced by White Pine Pictures and Ventana-Film 
In Association with Super Channel, ZDF/ARTE, and YLE
With the Participation of Ontario Creates, Telefilm Canada and the Rogers Group of Funds through the
Theatrical Documentary Program 
With the assistance of The Park Foundation and the Governments of Canada

International Sales Agent Films Transit
Marketing and promotion assistance provided by Telefilm Canada