POSTPONED: Screening – Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances"

The First Amendment from the Bill of Rights.

Shouting Fire examines the naked truth behind this monumental canon on which America; "the land of the free", rests. But perhaps more precariously than one might think.

Director Liz Garbus, and her father Martin Garbus; a First Amendment Attorney, explore the complexities involved in upholding  a law that is often steeped in controversy.

"One September 11 2001, there was this…psychological break down the country"  says one of Garbus’s interviewees. Through a series of cleverly interwoven interviews and case studies, Liz Garbus shows that upholding freedom of speech in this climate is a fundamental requirement that Americans may also have to fight for.

Experts and commentators from left and right share their views on cases where the First amendment was in play, from a University Professor’s sacking for his controversial views on 9/11 to the school banning of "homosexuality is shameful’ t shirts. For all those who want to know what may lie ahead in terms of freedom of speech, not only in America but across the west, Shouting Fire is the first port of call.

80 mins
2008