BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Film Festival and the Latchis Theatre will host the southern Vermont premiere of the award-winning documentary film Waking the Sleeping Giant: The Making of a Political Revolution on Saturday, June 3, at 4 p.m.
According to a news release, Waking the Sleeping Giant is the first feature-length documentary to tackle last year's U.S. presidential election, chronicling the challenges and opportunities faced by a resurgent political movement on the left.
The film tells the story of five remarkable individuals wrestling with persistent racial injustice, growing economic inequality, and the corrupting influence of money in politics, all against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential race.
Filmmakers Jon Erickson, Jacob Smith, and Kathryn Goldman began filming in January 2015, following U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as he explored a potential presidential bid and then campaigned.
They also followed four other grassroots organizers: a West Virginia coal country native, a Black Lives Matter activist in Los Angeles, and two millennial organizers leading peaceful demonstrations to confront the corrupting influence of money in politics.
In the news release, the filmmakers said Waking the Sleeping Giant “makes sense of this moment in American politics, exploring widespread discontent during the 2016 election cycle, Donald Trump's dramatic electoral victory, and the challenges ahead for those building a re-energized progressive movement.”
Erickson describes his experience working on the film as a “crash course in the state of American politics,” and a reminder that, “we are a democracy that still aspires to care for and love our neighbors, all our neighbors, and all our communities.”
The feature documentary recently had its U.S. premiere at the Thin Line Fest, where it was honored as the Best Feature Documentary. The film is starting a national tour beginning in Vermont.