Larry Weinstein and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new film Propaganda: The Art of Selling Lies, consumerism, art and persuasion, demagogues and Donald Trump, Che Guevara and why religion is the ultimate propaganda.
Synopsis:
In a world where access to media is unprecedented, the global conversation around the propagation of information, “alternative facts” and “fake news” has never been more heated. As media outlets become increasingly polarized, and as social media rules information feeds, where does propaganda come into play? How is it influencing changes in the world order? Propaganda: The Art of Selling Lies demystifies the predominant means and methods of propagandist persuasion that have been employed by those seeking power. It explores and analyzes the present day landscape and contextualizes it by looking back at key epochs of history when propaganda defined nations and kept populations in check.
From ancient cave drawings, to the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, to the unbridled stabs of Twitter, every form of media has been exploited in order to sway, awe and intimidate. The intellect is relegated to a distant second place to raw emotion that is fueled by sinister threats and unrealistic promises. The lie overrules the truth and becomes the new reality—alternative facts are dispensed in rants and raves. Propaganda has been at times relatively innocuous, but at others powerful and deadly, especially in the hands of the most infamously demonic demagogues through the ages.
About the Director:
Weinstein began to make films as a teenager while attending Earl Haig Secondary School.He went on to attend York University’s film school. This led to teaming up with Barbara Willis Sweete and Niv Fichman to co-found Rhombus Media in 1979.
Weinstein’s directorial debut came in 1984’s Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short and won the first-ever Best Documentary Gemini Award in Canada. Best known for classical-music projects such as Ravel’s Brain, Beethoven’s Hair and Mozartballs, Weinstein made 36 films that have garnered dozens of awards from around the world, including three International Emmy Awards (and several other Emmy nominations) and 12 personal Canadian Screen/Gemini Awards, as well as major awards in Canada, the United States, France, The Czech Republic, Mexico, and Australia.
His films have been broadcast in over 40 countries and he has been the subject of many International film retrospectives including those at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, The Jakarta International Film Festival in Indonesia, Doc Aviv in Israel, MOFFOM (Music on Film-Film on Music) in the Czech Republic, The Look of Sound in Germany, Impara L’Arte in Italy, the Havana Film Festival in Cuba, and a recent tribute at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. York University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
In 2015, Weinstein founded Larry Weinstein Productions and his distribution company, Dead Cow International. Weinstein’s 2016 documentary The Devil’s Horn premiered at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. His other 2016 film, Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star, a documentary on Leslie Caron, premiered at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Image Copyright: Larry Weinstein and Hawkeye Pictures. Used with permission.
F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.
For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.
With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.
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