WASHINGTON — The recently concluded 12th Annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival showcased the role of whistleblowers in society, honored those who speak truth to power and included individuals with Pine Bluff ties.
This year’s event, co-hosted by ACORN 8 and American University, expanded its reach through live-streaming and new partnerships with Free Speech TV and the Martha Mitchell House & Whistleblower Museum, located in Pine Bluff. The summit featured panel discussions on critical topics, including working with Congress, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, guardianship issues, and law enforcement challenges.
Highlights of the summit included:
1. National Whistleblower Appreciation Day at American University, featuring sessions on community whistleblowing and intelligence community insights.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
2. A world premiere of “A Tribute to William Pepper” by five-time Emmy Award-winner John Barbour, exploring the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
3. An interview with global environmentalist Allan Savory, president of the Savory Institute.
4. Screening of impactful films, including “If It Could Happen to Me…” addressing homelessness.
5. Book launches of “Community Capitol: Race, Equity, and the Credit Union Movement” and “The Complete Durham Report (2nd Edition).”
The film festival, running through Aug. 4, showcased outstanding works across various categories. Notable winners included:
Best Feature: “Kemba” directed by Kelley Kali;
Best Documentary: “The Nine O’clock Whistle” directed by Willa Cofield and Karen Riley;
Impact Award: “If It Could Happen to Me, It Could Happen to You” directed by Gwendolyn G. Cassady;
Audience Choice: “A Tribute to William Pepper” directed by John Barbour.
The summit also honored distinguished individuals with Pillar Awards, recognizing their contributions to whistleblowing and truth-telling:
Martha Mitchell Award: Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) (posthumous);
Shaw-Marvin Award: Blurred Lines — IDF soldiers;
Frank Wills Award: John Kiriakou, intelligence community whistleblower;
Grace Lee Boggs Award: Lily Greenberg Call, White House whistleblower on Gaza;
Journalism Award: Kevin Gostozla, journalist.
“This year’s summit and film festival have once again demonstrated the crucial role whistleblowers play in maintaining transparency and accountability in our society,” said Marcel Reid, festival director. “We’re proud to provide a platform that celebrates these brave individuals and the filmmakers who tell their stories.”
In attendance at this year’s event were Michael McCray of Pine Bluff, himself a whistleblower, founder of International Association of Whistleblowers and organizer of the annual whistleblowers conference, as well as Jennifer Medeiros, who owns the Martha Mitchell House and has devoted a room in the house as a museum for whistleblowers and their efforts. Medeiros also wrote a guest column for The Commercial that appeared in last Sunday’s edition.
For those who missed the live events, an encore presentation will be available during International Fraud Awareness Week (November 17-23). But it’s not too late to watch all of our award nominated films online (see below) at https://www.whistleblowersummit.com/film-festival-screenings.
Best Feature: Kemba — directed by Kelley Kali;
Finalist Best Feature: Thank You, Amelia Earhart — directed by Al Mertens;
Semi-finalist Best Feature: Countably Uncommon — directed by Rich Dow;
Best Documentary: The Nine O’clock Whistle — directed by Willa Cofield, Karen Riley;
Finalist Best Documentary: It Isn’t JUST Politics — directed by Liza Asner;
Semi-finalist Best Documentary: Manufacturing The Threat — directed by Amy Miller;
Impact Award: If It Could Happen to Me, It Could Happen to You — directed by Gwendolyn G. Cassady;
Finalist Impact Award: Uprooted — directed by Brandi Kellam;
Semi-finalist Impact Award: We Will Not Be Silenced — directed by Luis Solarat;
Audience Choice: A Tribute to William Pepper: The Greatest Piece of Investigative Journalism in 75 Years — directed by John Barbour;
Best Short: Call Them Athletes – directed by Torin Jade Ives;
Finalist Best Short: More Than Brothers — directed by Andrea von Siebenthal;
Semi-finalist Best Short: A Clean Slate — directed by Tran Hoang Calvin;
Best Screenplay: The Reconstruction of Huck Finn (Over Mark Twain’s Dead Body!) — written by Tim Plaehn;
Finalist Best Screenplay: Everybody Knows — written by Rangeley Wallace;
Semi-finalist Best Screenplay: Gun Shop — written by Dominic Benson Landes.
For more information about the Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival and to access recorded sessions, please visit (www.WhistleblowerSummit.com).