The Austin Film Society will be screening Better This World as a part of it’s “Best of the Fests Series” on Wednesday, Feb. 29th at 7pm at the Alamo Drafthouse Village.
For the first time, both Brad Crowder and David McKay will be in attendance for a special Q&A after the screening.
Click on over to the Austin Film Society for tickets.
Better This World follows the dramatic journey of David McKay (22) and Bradley Crowder (23) of Midland Texas, George W. Bush’s hometown, from political neophytes to accused domestic terrorists at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
An intriguing coming of age character portrait with timeless themes of friendship, trust and betrayal, Better This World reconstructs the story of the relationship between these young men and their mentor – radical activist Brandon Darby – in the six months leading up to the convention, and of the subsequent twists and turns of their legal cases.
Through interviews with Crowder, McKay and their family members; FBI agents and attorneys; and a wealth of intriguing surveillance and archival footage — Better This World presents an extraordinarily account of the boys’ radicalization, grapples with the morality of their choices, and sheds light on several overlapping issues related to the government’s domestic counterterrorism program: the growing surveillance culture, the criminalization of protest and dissent and the erosion of civil liberties in post-9/11 era.
Better This World paints a gripping portrait of the strange and intriguing odyssey of these young men — poignantly describing not only the problems of power and authority, but also the ultimate power of friendship, forgiveness and love.
Picturebox co-produced Better This World with Loteria Films. The film had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March of 2011, and has since gone one to win numerous awards, including Best Documentary of the Year at the 2011 IFP Gotham Awards.
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