Tomorrow will be the first Prince William County screening of the completed film 9500 Liberty.

From 9500 Liberty Press Release:

Woodbridge, VA (October 6, 2009) — Residents of Prince William County are hopeful that a film screening will restart dialogue about an immigration culture war that divided the county in 2007 and 2008. Friday’s 8 PM showing of 9500 Liberty, hosted by St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Woodbridge, will be the first ever presentation of the film with Spanish subtitles. An interpreter will facilitate discussion between residents and county officials following the award-winning documentary.

“Two years later, there remain a lot of hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and mistrust on all sides of this issue,” said Carlos Castro, founder of the Ayuda Business Coalition. “The language barrier is part of that, so hopefully having the immigrant community talk about this film together with police officials and members of the Board of Supervisors will be a significant step toward reconciliation.”

Friday, October 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM
St. Paul’s Methodist Church
1400 G. Street
Woodbridge, VA 22191
Admission: $10

9500 Liberty tracks the fate of the most controversial aspect of Prince William County’s Immigration Resolution, a mandate that required police officers to check the immigration status of anyone they had “probable cause” to suspect was an undocumented immigrant. As racial and political turmoil rose to a fever pitch, the Board of County Supervisors granted emergency funding for the “probable cause” mandate on October 16, 2007, only to repeal it two months into its implementation.

And,

9500 Liberty won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Charlotte Film Festival on September 24, then sold out its Washington DC premiere on October 1 turning dozens away. “Over the years, American documentaries have become, increasingly, the better films that I see,” remarked film critic Desson Thomson who hosted the DC event. “Tonight is no exception. And I think what’s most powerful about this film is the people who evolve — who go from a vote that was made under duress and fear, to a vote of principle and courage.”

From Eric Byler email:

I am putting finishing touches on the bilingual version of 9500 Liberty.  Spanish subtitles for the English parts.  English subtitles for the Spanish parts.  It’s like seeing the world in color for the first time!

If you ever want to fully appreciate what happened here in 2007 and 2008, if you care enough to really know, see the film with us Friday night sitting among members of the Spanish speaking community, with members of our county government, and members of our law enforcement community.  I think it will be a cathartic experience to collectively process the events that unfold in the film while in a gathering that is truly representative of our community, with the language barrier cast aside, and shared comprehension for the first time since the whole thing began.  No matter where you stood on the controversy when it all went down, even if you think you’re firmly entrenched on one “side” or the other, I think this experience will bring you closer to understanding where the “other side” is coming from.

Please invite the readers and contributors at AntiBVBL.net to come to our screening.  Many of them are characters in the story, both on screen and off.  There are many in this community who hope and expect that this event will be a step toward healing, truth, and reconciliation.  With everyone’s participation, I think it will be.

71 Thoughts to “Church Screening of “9500 Liberty” a Step Toward Reconciliation”

  1. Rick Bentley

    I would pay ten cents to see this, much less 10 dollars. Those of you who aren’t disturned by the bias of these carpet-bagger Michael Moore-wannabes, enjoy the “cathartic experience” and the “shared comprehension”. If they put it up free, I’ll watch it.

    I still suspect this is a nefarious plot by those two to start producing Spanish-themed porn.

  2. Rick Bentley

    “It’s like seeing the world in color for the first time!”

    Okay. When he says something like that in earnest seriousness, so proud of his won work akin to a 5-year olds pride in his crayon drawing, are more of you out there likely to throw up? or to chuckle?

  3. Rick Bentley

    Upcoming Byler/Park productions :

    “Charlie Deane : A Man For All Ages”

    “The Rise and Fall of the Rule of Law Resolution”

    “9500 Liberty Part 2 : Free Rivera”

    “Corey Stewart and Me”

    “Look at Me Mom, I’m a Filmmaker”

  4. M-H thank you for posting this. I can’t be there Friday. I hope the discussion afterward is productive.

    Glad to see Carlos quoted — Leadership Prince William, Class of 2010!

  5. Moon-howler

    Cindy, you will be missed.

    Rick, I have an email from Eric offering to comp your ticket if you will introduce yourself.

    Bad me. I ad libbed something and didn’t get it right. Sorry.

    He is serious. I am your witness. Free ticket for Rick.

  6. Moon-howler

    Ok, more news in from Eric. There will be a comp list for REGULARS from antibvbl.net. Email me at [email protected] if you want to be on the comp list.

    I will check that email up until 3 pm tomorrow afternoon.

  7. Last Best Hope

    Free tickets for skeptics? Can I have one as well?

  8. Moon-howler

    See above. Email me please.

  9. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    Reconciliation. Well, at least that word gave me a good chuckle.

  10. Moon-howler

    Slowpoke, will you be there? There is a ticket with your name on it, all comped.

  11. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    I’m afraid my Friday evenings are sacrosanct. I would enjoy meeting some folks, though!

  12. Moon-howler

    Sorry you won’t be there. That is how my Sat evenings are. I will speak for myself. I would enjoy meeting you, although I expect you might walk in as Battle Cat. 😉

  13. Lafayette

    I’m very sorry to say I won’t be there. Of course I was at the private local screening when Eric had the cops called on him while taping in WestGate.

  14. Elena

    Lafayette,
    Did you think the movie was fair? I keep hearing from people like Rick et al that it panders completely to one side. It would be helpful to hear your opinion.

    Slow,
    I guess we won’t meet in person yet then. I am hoping to make it there tomorrow night also.

  15. Lafayette

    Lafayette,
    I’ve not spoke publicallly regarding the film. The best way I can put it is it’s an unbiased as it can be with one side refusing to participate. I was asked to be interviewed numerous times by Eric and/or Anabel before May of 2008. It was not until after the attack on Chief Deane’s meetings that I was willing to sit down with them. I really wish I’d taken them on one of my infamous “field trips” from the beginning.

    I will say I certainly do NOT feel that my thoughts were edited to suit the needs of Eric/Anabel. There’s one thing that I think I’ve been consistantly clear on, and that is that my stance on illegal immigration has not changed one bit.

  16. Lafayette

    My goodness…I was responding to Elena and not myself.

    I’m sorry Slow won’t be there too.

    Rick,
    I really think you should take Eric up on the offer a ticket. You really should this with your own two eyes. Heck, we could pair up to get those “volunteers” we were talking about on another thread. 😉
    All jokes aside..you really should consider going and judge for yourself.

  17. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    Moon-howler :
    Sorry you won’t be there. That is how my Sat evenings are. I will speak for myself. I would enjoy meeting you, although I expect you might walk in as Battle Cat.

    Well, it was him or He-Man!

  18. Last Best Hope

    I have a ticket waiting for me under Larry Bernard Hawkings.

  19. Moon-howler

    People may reserve tickets under anonymous names if they want.

    For example, if Slowpoke wanted to come as He-man instead of slowpoke, that would be fine. Just email me [email protected] and say 1 ticket for He-Man. I will let Eric know.

  20. Rick Bentley

    “I really think you should take Eric up on the offer a ticket. You really should this with your own two eyes. ”

    Maybe. Then I could criticize it in more depth.

  21. Moon-howler

    Let me know, Rick. He made the offer.

  22. Rick Bentley

    I appreciate that offer, but I wouldn’t take a free ticket after blasting him repeatedly. If I can get free tonight I’ll pay and reserve my impartiality.

  23. Lafayette

    Rick, maybe someone will make a bootleg copy tonight and post it for you to see. 🙂

  24. Moon-howler

    I hope you will make it, Rick. And I respect your integrity on the blasting part.

    And, you might find the film is fairer than you had imagined. Never can tell. You know how I feel about that freaking ‘wall’ and I felt 2 sides were shown…or at least the footage I saw last summer.

  25. Lafayette

    Of course there are somethings Rick would blast, but nothings perfect. However, I agree with Madam Moon you might be surprised, Rick. I would love to hear Rick’s own opinion.

  26. Starryflights

    I’ll be there! This will be a great day for Prince William County as we try to heal our wounds from the past two years’ pointless immigration debate. I wonder if Greg Letiecq will be there. He should come if he isn’t a coward.

  27. Lafayette

    Starry, I seriously doubt Mr. L will be there. BTW he is NO coward. You may disagree with him, but a coward he is NOT. Didn’t we have this discussion last week with someone? Not saying it was you starry,but I don’t remember who said “coward”.

  28. Moon-howler

    Starry, we consider you a regular. Email me at [email protected] if you want a comp ticket. You may do it anonymously. Make up a name for me to give Eric. It will be yours.

  29. Moon-howler

    I have just received word that the comp list will be kept by a church volunteer who will have no interest in anyone’s identity. People who have emailed me need to just give the name discussed. Blog identities will be protected.

    So, if you are Slowpoke Rodriguez and have given me the name He-Man, then tell the volunteer you have a comp ticket for He-man.

    Thanks Slow, for the use of your name. You are always a good sport so I figured you would not mind, since Friday nights are sacrosanct to you and we are not expecting He-man to be attending.

  30. Moon-howler

    Please note, I had email wrong ( dot net)

    yahoo is a dot com.

    correct address: [email protected]

    If you have my real email, feel free to use that. I just don’t want to post something coming to my house on the blog.

  31. rod2155

    I’d love to come, but I’m in FX county and have to leave for Richmond at 6am on Sat to teach at VCU.

    It’d be pushing my energy to the brink.

    If there is ever a showing in Herndon, and we NEED IT!!! count me in.

    Otherwise I wish for the best…

    -R

  32. Moon-howler

    Does Eric have your address, Rod?

    If not, you can leave it at my email and I will pass it on to him. I never assume the ones people leave for us are real. 😉

  33. rod2155

    I’m on Eric’s e-mail list…I shot some b-roll material for L-9500 in 2007 during the last Herndon Election, but I don’t believe it made the cut as Herndon is just too complex a subject to interject into an already complex issue.

    I really wanted to work with E and A on the production, but my day job and side obligations consume most of my time and energy.

    Even finding a spare minute between crisis’ to spirt out a thought or two on this blog is not easy.

  34. Moon-howler

    Herndon does seem unique. Sorry you can’t make it to the Woodbridge showing. I avoid Woodbridge at almost all costs. I worked there for over a decade. Just the drive over ……shudder.

    Safe trip to Richmond, Rod.

  35. Last Best Hope

    If the church person reads this blog, then he or she will be the only person in the county who knows our identities! How exciting. I think I will change my nom de plume to Greg Letiecq and see how I’m recieved in that case.

  36. Last Best Hope

    @Starryflights
    Starry, the Spanish speakers of the county are about to find out the bogus and frankly racist propaganda that Letiecq has been spreading about them over the years. People like to refer to opponents they despise as cowards. Terrorists, for instance are always called cowards by the government they are resisting. Fine by me.

    My take is that Letiecq has shown he is not afraid of confrontation in the past, and thus coward is one word I would not chose to taunt him with. If he were to take a pass on the free tickets invitation tonight, I’d think no less of him, not because he would fear confrontation, but he might be just a little ashamed of what he’s done all in the name of politics.

  37. anon

    @LastBestHope
    You should come if you can. I’ve seen an advance screening and its very good. But be warned… if you are who I think you are, then you’re in the movie yourself.

  38. Moon-howler

    LBH, with your luck, you would be right behind the real Mr. Letiecq in line. Snicker.

    LBH, have you emailed me yet to get on the list? You are considered a regular, for sure.

  39. @Last Best Hope
    LBH, the problem is, GL HAS no shame and neither do his cohorts. They are proud of what they have done and continue to do. However, we, as a majority of thinking people, can be proud knowing extremism and hatred are not what we want PWC to be known for.

  40. Witness Too

    Pinko I agree with you generally speaking but LBH has a point that name calling adds nothing at this point.

    I would like to think that Mr. Letiecq is capable of shame and remorse. If so, I’m sure that one day he will regret that Help Save Manassas is all he is remembered for. If it were me, I would be grief-stricken. I feel sorry for him, and this is not intended as an insult. What a tragic legacy.

    However, let’s not forget the County Chairman who enabled Mr. Letiecq to serve essentially as Co-Chairman-at-Large. Men like Mr. Letiecq are not rare. Men like Mr. Stewart, thankfully, are rare. What of Corey Stewart’s ability to feel shame or remorse? I have seen some signs, but there are those who say he would sing the same song again if he could just get that spotlight to go on again.

    Finally, I will be there as myself and I will not be needing a free ticket. It really marvels me that to this day we are afraid, most of us, to say who we are. What does that say about this county? Also, it saddens me that there are people whose sense of self is so tied up in their loyalty and adoration for Letiecq and Stewart, that they cling to fictions that have years since been disproven. Naturally, they are angry about the fact that this frightening chapter in our county’s history was recorded on film. I would guess it is for the same reason and that they are so angry at the founders of this blog. With their whole identity tied up in Stewart and Letiecq’s fiction, a second blog springing up to challenge that fiction is an unbearable thing.

    I see their comments on this blog every time I check in here. Two years later and they won’t let go of that anger, just because someone decided that it would be okay for two blogs to comment on county affairs instead of one.
    This saddens me even more than the legacy of Letiecq and Stewart. At least they had some agency in choosing their fate. I get the feeling their most devoted followers, the ones who still cling to their twin kings almost two years after their great fall, are under some psychological compulsion that we in the world of reality may never comprehend.

  41. Rick Bentley

    Unfortunately Mapquest screwed me up big time tonight. I had intended to go and to subsequently write a small review, but armed only with scribbled directions that lead to nowhere, I couldn’t find the Church.

  42. Rick Bentley

    So I’ll have to just confine myself to critique of the film’s online synopsis :

    “9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens.”

    THAT is complete hooey, the people that I know were fearful of what they saw around them, not anything that some activist dreamed up. I guess FAIR is also responsible for the empirical evidence that residents are more satisfied with the County since the resolution’s passage.

    “Alarmed by a climate of fear and racial division, residents form a resistance using YouTube videos and virtual townhalls, setting up a real-life showdown in the seat of county government.”

    There are a heck of a lot of residents who have never heard of either board, but have strong opinions on these issues. And hence the 9-0 vote favoring the resolution. The real battleground is the ballot box.

    “The devastating social and economic impact of the “Immigration Resolution” is felt in the lives of real people in homes and in local businesses.”

    Was there no social and economic impact to all the unchecked illegal immigration? Am I just imagining that we went far into the red financially even when we were pulling in tax money at an unprecedented rate? Am I just imagining the “white flight” for want of an updated term that I saw happen all around me, people who had lived here for decades leaving in disgust?

    Do the filmmakers really think that without Corey Stewart and Greg Leticq that we would all be living in some type of peaceful coexistence with middle-class Americans embracing the undocumented? From what I saw, from the way I know myself and other people feel, and the things I heard people (not-activists, non-HSM members) say I think it more likely that bad feelings would have erupted into real violence.

  43. Rick Bentley

    The filmmakers, from this synopsis, are chasing ghosts. Greg Leticq is hardly going to take over the world, or the County.

    FAIR has practically no impact on the political beliefs, or voting patterns, of County residents. Directly or indirectly.

    John Stirrup and Corey Stewart are up-front and honest about what they believe and are trying to do. There is no hidden agenda. Did Stewart think he could ride the issue high and hard? I don’t know. Maybe. I know that if he hadn’t embraced it he would probably have been out on his ear.

    The real villian is not any of the above. It’s the average middle-class County resident who resents illegal immigrants, doesn’t want to live next to them in bunches, and doesn’t want undocumented people all over their neighborhood. Whether these people (I’m one) are entirely rational, or entirely irrational, they should be the topic of discussion. The reality, though it may be painful to some, is that unless you change the average American’s mind there will be no cross-cultural embrace of the undocumented, and at every level of politics Amnesty will continue to be a non-starter and Americans will continue to be very unhappy when anything happens to them like what happened here in PWC.

  44. Rick Bentley

    The elites have given it their BEST SHOT and failed. Hence Lindsay Graham’s tears. It ain’t happening. Eventually this gridlock will break, and the will of the American people is eventually going to be done.

  45. Elena

    Rick,
    It’s too bad you didn’t find the church.

  46. Moon-howler

    The map on mapquest was fairly screwed up. G Street was shown on the wrong side of the street.

    Rick, I really wish you had seen the film. You are right about people’s fears and their neighborhoods changing. However, you cannot disregard the political implications that were driving much of what happened in this county. An election had to be won and some folks found a way to do it.

  47. Last Best Hope

    Hmmmm. A lot to process from last night and I am still processing. It was a long night because the film was followed by a panel with many of the main players and very lengthy comments from audience members, some of which never got around to a question.

    The film caught me off guard in that a lot of incidents I expected to be shown were not shown, and it was filled with surprising incidents I had no idea had occurred.

    Billed as a film that “makes Corey Stewart look like an idiot” (this was the big quote in a MJM article from someone who got a sneak preview), the film revealed nothing I did not already know about him, while omitting many of the things he did to make himself look, if not idiotic, at least unhinged. There was nothing about Stewart instantaneously forwarding internal BOCS emails to Greg Letiecq so that the Letiecq Internet Frenzy machine could be used to bully the Board into firing Chief Deane. That was Stewart’s lowest moment and a glaring omission from the film.

    Stewart’s second lowest moment, or most brilliant depending on your agenda, was using county funds to send out a political post card during his “fighting illegal immigration” reelection campaign setting up the circus act BOCS meeting in Oct. 2007. While this is 10 times more predictable, it was also 10 times more infamous and more discussed at the time. I was looking forward to seeing Maureen Caddigan’s brilliant move to hold the Chairman’s feet to the fire when he tried to limit the very people he invited to participate to only one minute at the podium. I believe Stewart lost the vote 6 to 2, and the result was 12 hours of Citizens’ Time to delay a vote that was already decided before they showed up. But this was skipped as well.

    Other low points I expected to see from Corey included his laughable performance in the Channel 7 debate where a simple question from Sharon Pandak got so hot under the collar that he turned red in the face and broke into a boxer’s sweat. I also expected to see Stewart saying “over my dead body” in response to a Post reporter’s question about whether probable cause was going bye-bye, which it did of course the very next week. Basically Stewart is not in the film other than Board meetings, and I’m not sure this alone makes him look like an idiot.

    I sound as if I am complaining but really I am only expressing surprise. More after coffee…

  48. Last Best Hope

    Okay, enough about what is not in the film. What is in the film, right?

    Well, as expected there is quite a bit of time spent at 9500 Liberty Street in Manassas, and no it is never explained that Manassas is a separate locality. There were a lot of pretty shots of immigrants having picnics while painting new messages on the wall and being shouted at to “Go home!” or “Speak English!” as people drive by. The film explains the way the wall reflected the mood of the community, or at least its owner, over the course of the year. But for the most part the scenes just gave us a breather from BOCS meetings and talking heads.

    For those who thought they knew everything there is to know about this politics involved, as I did, I recommend most of all the second half of this film. I would need to do some of my own research before giving my reaction, but the film does in fact document the assertions made in the synopsis (ATTN: Rick Bentley). For instance, the influence of K Street lobbyists on our county government is established by a K Street lobbyist, who takes credit for the whole fiasco with a smirk on his face during a Civil Rights Commission hearing. The social impact is obvious throughout, but the economic impact is not sufficiently established in my view. How are we to know how much of our local recession was just a precursor to the national recession? I would have liked to see more statistical analysis comparing PWC to neighboring counties. There was one graph where the comparison was startling.

    In any case, the last half details in intimate fashion the movement to defeat the probable cause lunacy in 2008. This is more valuable than the 2007 portion which covers territory that was accurately covered by the media. What happened on 2008 was not accurately documented by the media, so this film will be the only reliable historical record. I was pleased to see that the true Conservatives, both on the Board and in the public, got their due for spearheading the effort to end the short-lived era of probable cause. Marty Nohe in particular comes off well in the film, and he represented himself well in the panel afterward despite the mostly Democrat crowd who did not begin to grasp that all the things they cheered for in the second half of the film would not have happened without four Republicans on the Board standing up to the unhinged mania pressuring them from the far right.

    In some ways, the movement to repeal the policy was inspired by Stewart and Letiecq’s disastrous plot to turn the county against Chief Deane. (Chief Deane was there and his conduct was exemplary even in the face of partisanship and dubious claims of racial profiling from he audience) But the real story as I see it is that the behind-the-scenes machinations to gut the resolution were underway almost as soon as the 2007 election was over, and the attack on Chief Deane was an act of desperation to head it off at the pass. It’s always been clear to me that the Supervisors and the citizens prefer Chief Deane’s leadership to Corey Stewart and Greg Letiecq’s. When, in the film, this becomes clear to the Board, the policy is gutted and the story ends on an uplifting note. Uplifting, that is, for everyone except the three not-so-foolish “fools,” and for Sen. John McCain, who, “did not deserve what he got,” as is explained by former Senator Mel Martinez, recently mentioned in the watershed Gerson column.

    The film is useful, and will have an impact beyond this county because it underscores what Gerson wrote about the raging whites only culture war that has infected the Republican party (see previous thread). Culture war politics not only leads to bad policy in the short term, it will be political suicide in the long term. The only advantage is short term political opportunism, which, as we all have seen, is simply not worth the cost.

  49. Lafayette

    Witness Too,
    You bring up an excellent point in the fact the film did not address the fact that the Senor F’s sign was in the City of Manassas. This is a very important fact that should’ve been included. The City of Manassas has it’s own governing board. The sign critisized a policy in Prince William County. This just really makes for an undeserving black eye on the City of Manassas.

    I made up my mind last night that I would try to view the film as if I were from another part of the country or state. I would not look at the screen often to imagine I was an outsider.

    It was very disappointing to see people get up to ask a question of the panel and they did nothing more than talk. There really should have been a time limit of some sort. I would’ve like to asked a question or two.

  50. Opinion

    Great movie. I’m guessing 9500 Liberty Street will work its way into several Political Science cirriculims (if it hasn’t already). It could easily be the focus of a semester.

    My only regret about last night’s screening is the fact that no one with an alternative point of view appeared to attend or participate in the questions. I understand if there were such folks in the audiance and perhaps they felt uncomfortable speaking up. I would have loved to hear their perspective. (IMHO) Bringing both sides together is the true path to the reconcilliation that we seek. It would be interesting to offer a screening at an HSM meeting (and get some of the same folks who showed up last night to attend).

    I wish the question & answer section were handled differently. There were too many folks using “our” question time for self-promotion or editorializing. I hope any future sessions will go to written questions (on 3×5 cards perhaps) to move things along. I also would have liked to ask a question or two.

Comments are closed.