Informant
Mesmerizing...INFORMANT is riveting as it slowly assembles a damning profile of its subject. It's also timely.
Informant
How does a leftist firebrand end up a Tea Party favorite?
Informant is a fascinating psychological portrait of Brandon Darby, a radical activist turned FBI informant who has been alternately vilified and deified. In 2005, Darby became an overnight hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a friend stranded in the Ninth Ward. Soon after, he co-founded Common Ground, a successful grassroots relief organization. But over the next few years, he began hiding a shocking secret.
After two young protesters were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby revealed he had been instrumental in the indictment as an FBI informant. As David Hanners of St. Paul Pioneer Press summarized, “When you interview people about Brandon Darby, you realize that everyone has a different idea of who he is.”
The only film with access to Darby since his public confession, INFORMANT meticulously constructs a picture of his life — before and after the death threats — through interviews and tense reenactments starring the man himself. Darby’s version of events is accompanied and often contradicted by evidence from acquaintances and expert commentators from various points along the political spectrum, posing complicated questions about trust and the nature of reality.
“An absorbing puzzle with the potential to intrigue viewers all along the political spectrum.” – Variety
“A kind of Fog of War for the age of Occupy” – Indiewire
Winner ~ DOC NYC 2012, Grand Jury Prize
Winner ~ Austin Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Winner ~ Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Winner ~ Fargo Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Informant is a fascinating psychological portrait of Brandon Darby, a radical activist turned FBI informant who has been alternately vilified and deified. In 2005, Darby became an overnight hero when he traveled to Katrina-devastated New Orleans and braved toxic floodwaters to rescue a friend stranded in the Ninth Ward. Soon after, he co-founded Common Ground, a successful grassroots relief organization. But over the next few years, he began hiding a shocking secret.
After two young protesters were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention, Darby revealed he had been instrumental in the indictment as an FBI informant. As David Hanners of St. Paul Pioneer Press summarized, “When you interview people about Brandon Darby, you realize that everyone has a different idea of who he is.”
The only film with access to Darby since his public confession, INFORMANT meticulously constructs a picture of his life — before and after the death threats — through interviews and tense reenactments starring the man himself. Darby’s version of events is accompanied and often contradicted by evidence from acquaintances and expert commentators from various points along the political spectrum, posing complicated questions about trust and the nature of reality.
“An absorbing puzzle with the potential to intrigue viewers all along the political spectrum.” – Variety
“A kind of Fog of War for the age of Occupy” – Indiewire
Winner ~ DOC NYC 2012, Grand Jury Prize
Winner ~ Austin Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Winner ~ Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Winner ~ Fargo Film Festival 2012, Best Documentary
Genre
Documentary
Web Site
Runtime
81
Language
English
Director
Jamie Meltzer
FEATURED REVIEW
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Now comes Jamie Meltzer's excellent Informant, an in-depth portrait of Darby that both complements the earlier film and is engrossing on its own. Activist groups of all stripes will want to see it, but the force of Darby's personality -- a rich stew of righteousness, arrogance and self-delusion -- ...
Played at
NoHo 7 9.13.13 - 9.19.13
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