EXCLUSIVE: Theatrical audiences around the country (and into Canada) are about to get the chance to see Bad Press, the breakout Sundance documentary that enjoys a 100 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler explores a ferocious battle over freedom of the press that erupted in the Muscogee Nation based in Oklahoma. Context Moves is kicking off a platform theatrical release today in Toronto, followed by openings in Tulsa, Okla. (Oct. 6-12), Winston-Salem, N.C. (Oct. 9-10), Washington D.C. (Oct. 11), Los Angeles (Laemmle Glendale Oct. 27-Nov. 2), Chicago (Gene Siskel Film Center Nov. 29-Dec. 3), New York (DCTV Firehouse Cinema Dec. 1-7), among other locations.
“Imagine you lived in a world where your only reliable news source became government propaganda overnight. That’s exactly what happened to the citizens of the Muscogee Nation, the fourth largest Native American tribe, in 2018,” notes a synopsis of the film. “Out of 574 federally-recognized tribes, the Muscogee Nation was one of only five to establish a free and independent press – until the tribe’s legislative branch abruptly repealed the landmark Free Press Act in advance of an election. The tribe’s hard-hitting news outlet, Mvskoke Media, would now be subject to direct editorial oversight by the tribal government.”
The synopsis continues, “One defiant journalist refuses to accept this flagrant act of oppression. As brave as she is blunt, veracious muckraker Angel Ellis charges headfirst into battle against the corrupt faction of the Muscogee National Council. Angel and her allies rally for press freedoms by inciting a voter-supported constitutional amendment, just in time for the start of a new election cycle.”
In its review, Collider wrote, “Bad Press reveals the essential nature of the free press and what happens when it is stifled by politicians and officials who would rather control the narrative than let the truth see the light of day… It reminds us how valuable the news can be and what the landscape of truth can look like when it is gone.”
(L-R) Directors Joe Peeler and Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and film subject Angel Ellis of ‘Bad Press’ at the Sundance Film Festival.
Photo by Emily Assiran/Getty Images for Stacy’s Pita Chips
“Seeing festival audiences react so positively to Bad Press has been an incredible experience – we’ve often sat in theaters full of people laughing, crying, gasping and cheering as they watch Angel and her fellow Mvskoke Media journalists fight for freedom of press in the Muscogee Nation,” Peeler and Landsberry-Baker said in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring this wonderful theatrical experience to audiences worldwide, and hope that the film will illuminate the challenges to press freedoms that Indigenous journalists face every day.”
Bad Press won a Special Jury Prize for Freedom of Expression at the Sundance Film Festival, where the documentary premiered. It earned best documentary awards at the Dallas International Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., and deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City, Okla. Landsberry-Baker and Peeler were named best directors at the Nevada City Film Festival and their film also won the One in a Million Award at the Sun Valley Film Festival in Idaho.
Watch the trailer for Bad Press above.
