"Iron Ladies of Liberia"
A FREE film directed by Siatta Scott Johnson and Daniel Junge
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
7:00 pm in MSU's Procrastinator Theater in the SUB
Pierced with the detrimental effects of a 14-year civil war and corruption filled government, Liberia takes a stand, hoping for a transformation. January of 2006 brought a new face to the turmoil as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf stood for her presidential inauguration, the first freely elected female head of state in Africa. After winning a fiercely challenged election, due to tremendous support from women voters, the Harvard-educated economist nicknamed the Iron Lady must bring reform to a devastated country overwhelmed by debt. Radically changing the face of politics, this Iron Lady appoints an unprecedented number of women into positions of authority. Faced with severe opposition from those loyal to the former president, Sirleaf works to not alienate her initial supporters.
Capturing groundbreaking footage, the directors go behind the scenes of Sirleaf's first year in office as these "Iron Ladies" battle the constant threat of riots, black markets and putting a nation together again. Capturing the historic transition from authoritarianism to democracy, this film gives an inspirational look into the lives and duties of the woman who have become the backbone of change for torn nation.
"A unique look behind the scenes at the rebirth of a nation and democracy in action."
Woodstock Film Festival
"Maxed Out"
A FREE film directed by James Scurlock
Wednesday, November 4th
7:00 pm in MSU's Procrastinator Theater in the SUB
Delving deep into the American debt crisis, this film exploits the ideology that all will be well as long as the minimum payments are met. Scouring the country, the director reveals the financial identity of rich real estate brokers, merging banks, while getting insider information throughout the journey. Setting out to exposing the modern debt-style in all of its absurdities and contradictions, evident through interviews with victims of predatory lending scams, the film investigates only to discover that the predators are the largest and most respected financial institutions. The final unearthing takes the film crew to Congress, following the financial trail of a presidential election. Exploring the question of why the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, and the number of those in debt escalates faster than during the Great Depression, Maxed out creates a hilarious, shocking and incisive portrait. The scary truth paints an image of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us."
"There's a lot of shame and a lot of guilt attached to the issue of money mismanagement...Everybody feels like the other couple has a perfect marriage and a perfect everything...Turns out, I've met Ken and Barbie and they're broke."
-Dave Ramsey
