Director Robert Greene discusses his film "Bisbee '17"
Dec 11, 2018
Info
A discussion between director Robert Greene about his film Bisbee '17. Moderated by Shaniqua McClendon, political director for Crooked Media. In a mining community on the border with Mexico, internal strife and extreme rhetoric riddle a small town. The state of our union, or in fact a flashback to a century ago? Such is the core of Robert Greene’s newest inventive documentary centered on an Arizona town where 1,200 inhabitants (many of them foreign-born) were deported by those in their midst as part of a labor dispute in 1917. Greene captures the proceedings of Bisbee, AZ’s centennial reenactment of the gruesome incident in an ambitiously-scaled, electrifying fusion of non-fiction with musical, ghost story, and Western elements. As townspeople take on the roles of those who led the roundup, and those who were its targets, they contend with Bisbee’s divided past, its effect on the present-day town, and their own outlook on life in American today. With empathy and clarity of vision, Greene gives a stage to the performance of civic values to make us all live together a little better. The conversation was part of MoMA Contenders, The Museum of Modern Art’s renowned series of influential, innovative films from the past 12 months. Whether bound for awards glory or cult classic status, each of these films is a contender for lasting historical significance.