AMERICAN GADFLY

US 2020, 95 min Director Skye Wallin

In 1971, Alaskan US Senator Mike Gravel famously made public the “Pentagon Papers,” exposing the worst of our government’s secret policies during the Vietnam War. Nearly a half-century later, having retired after decades as a progressive public servant, he ran for POTUS—at age 89. Why? Because some New York teenagers asked him to. Skye Wallin’s documentary offers a humorous, inspiring look at whip-smart, social-media-savvy high schoolers running a national presidential campaign. Their goal is not to “win,” but simply to pressure the Democratic Party establishment into addressing the issues important to their generation, many of which Gravel championed long before they were born. While learning some bitter truths about real politics, they also succeed beyond their wildest imaginations. American Gadfly is a stirring rebuke to cynicism and disengagement, proving that the ordinary citizen without special connections or great wealth can rattle the halls of power, to democracy’s benefit. –Dennis Harvey

Screenings will be joined in person by director Skye Wallin and cinematographer Mike Revolvalcke for an onstage conversation, and the October 12 screening also will be joined by South San Francisco City Councilman James Coleman.