BRATTLEBORO — What started as a “third-rate burglary” ended with the resignation of a president of the United States.
On Sunday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m., the 1976 film All the President's Men will be shown free of charge on the big screen at the Latchis Theatre, followed by a panel discussion on the importance today of investigative journalism.
On the panel will be Randy Holhut, deputy editor of The Commons; Susan Smallheer, long-time reporter for the Rutland Herald; and Kate Casa, former editor-in-chief of the Brattleboro Reformer and now editorial manager for the School for International Training in Brattleboro.
The story of how two young reporters at The Washington Post unraveled a criminal conspiracy that led all the way to the Oval Office inspired a whole generation of young people to pursue journalism.
Alan J. Pakula's multi-award-winning film, starring Robert Redford as Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein, gave many of them the final push to enter the profession.
“In the Age of Trump, 'fake news,' and the discrediting of the profession of journalism, the film is an excellent example of how dogged, thorough reporting keeps the powerful honest, the citizenry engaged, and our democracy intact,” Holhut said in a news release.
This film is the second in the series. The first, the 1952 film Deadline USA, starring Humphrey Bogart, was shown in May.
The festival will continue with a look at the darker side of journalism with Kirk Douglas's gripping 1951 film Ace in the Hole on Nov. 19.
A caustic look inside broadcast media, the 1987 film Broadcast News will be shown Jan. 7.
The series concludes on Feb. 25 with the 2015 Academy Award for Best Picture winner, Spotlight, which tells the story of how the investigative journalists of The Boston Globe exposed a massive scandal of child molestation inside the Catholic Church.
All these films are being shown at 4 p.m. and all will be followed by panel discussions.
The event is being produced by a coalition composed of the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library, Brooks Memorial Library, The Commons, the Reformer, and the Latchis Theatre.