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By Mabel Pais
STEAL THIS STORY, PLEASE!
“Goodman’s story offers a compelling reminder that smart, honest, and accurate reporting is a duty, not a business.”
— Pat Mullen, POV Magazine
“Steal This Story, Please!” is a gripping account of the trailblazing journalist, AMY GOODMAN, whose unwavering commitment to truth-telling spans three decades of turbulent history. Undeterred by armed soldiers, evasive politicians, and riot police, Amy Goodman has reported some of the most consequential stories of our time. From the front lines of global conflicts to the organized chaos of her daily news show “Democracy Now!,” Goodman amplifies stories and voices too often silenced by commercial media.
Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (“Trouble the Water,” “Citizen Koch,” “The Janes”) take us behind the scenes with the warm, wise cracking granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi – raised in a tradition of asking hard questions – as she navigates a media landscape reshaped by technology, corporate consolidation, and political assaults on the press and on truth itself. Urgent, provocative and unexpectedly funny, “Steal This Story, Please!” Is both a call to action and a celebration of resistance, posing the question: what happens to democracy when the press stops challenging power?
“As long-time listeners – and occasional guests – of Democracy Now!, we’ve been struck by Amy Goodman’s clarity of purpose and her sheer audacity. But when we set out to tell her story, we couldn’t have anticipated just how urgently it would speak to this moment.”
“Democracy Now!” launched just two weeks after the 1996 Telecommunications Act was signed into law – a sweeping deregulation that accelerated the corporate takeover and consolidation of radio, television and newspaper outlets. Into that vacuum stepped Amy and her fiercely independent broadcast, determined to build something different.
East Timor was a turning point for Amy. Witnessing the massacre of hundreds of peaceful protesters by Indonesian soldiers was profoundly traumatic, and it fed Amy’s belief in the power of journalism to make change. Her reporting, alongside colleague Allan Nairn, made it impossible for the US media to ignore the story, and helped to galvanize an international movement that led to independence for the Timorese. Amy would come to call this “trickle-up journalism.”
Twenty-five years ago at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia she cornered politicians and billionaires alike, asking questions no one else dared: to President George HW Bush: ”What do you say to those who call you a war criminal for the invasion of Iraq?”, to House Speaker Newt Gingrich: “Will you apologize to American women for calling the First Lady a bitch?”
For her, journalism is practically an endurance sport.
The questions Amy has been asking for decades — about power, war, corporate influence, and the role of the press — have only grown more urgent. With media consolidation, billionaire ownership, shrinking newsrooms, and algorithms that promote spectacle over truth, the kind of independent journalism Amy practices feels increasingly rare. But her example is a reminder of what journalism can still be.
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FLORIDA’S 35TH EDITION FILM FEST HONORS PAUL GIAMATTI AND JUDGE REINHOLD
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By Mabel Pais
Featuring
Co-Directors VIJESH RAJAN, YASHODA PARTHASARTHY’s
Narrative Short “The Last Ride”
Director RADHEYA JANG’s Animated Short “Trading Cards”
And Many More
The Florida Film Festival (FFF)’s 35th edition film lineup and events for 2026 will take place April 10-19. FFF will showcase 161 films (31 narrative features, 18 documentary features, and 112 short films), representing 31 countries, screening at the Enzian Theater (1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland, Florida).
Florida Film Festival Executive Director Wade Neal, said, “We take the view that film is eternal, and is a supreme storytelling framework that creates deeper understanding, togetherness, and insight than other art forms. By coming together to celebrate the work and talent that each film represents, we honor extraordinary filmmakers that carry the power and magic of film forward.”
FFF Programming Director, Matthew Curtis, added, “New developments for year 35 include our inaugural ‘Festival Centerpiece’ screening, as well as the first-ever feature to be included in Sunspots: New Visions of the Avant-Garde, our experimental program featuring dazzling work from renegade film artists you’ll rarely see anywhere else on the big screen.”
The subjects of this year’s celebrated “An Evening With..” events will be Academy Award®-nominee Paul Giamatti and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Beverly Hills Cop’s” Judge Reinhold.
FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP
GALA PRESENTATIONS
OPENING NIGHT
“Carolina Caroline”
Director: Adam Carter Rehmeier; USA; 105m
A small-time hustler (Kyle Gallner) and a small-town girl (Samara Weaving) embark on a sexy, kinetic road trip in search of an American dream to call their own. But what begins with a few stolen twenties soon spirals beyond their control.
CENTERPIECE
“Over Your Dead Body”
Director: Jorma Taccone; USA; 105m
A dysfunctional couple (Jason Segel and Samara Weaving) head to a remote cabin to supposedly reconnect, but each has secret plans to kill the other in this riotously violent comedy from SNL alumnus Jorma Taccone (Popstar, MacGruber) that co-stars Timothy Olyphant and Juliette Lewis.
CLOSING NIGHT
“Strangers on a Train (1951)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock; USA ; 101m
Nominated for an Oscar® for Best Cinematography and co-scripted by legendary mystery writer Raymond Chandler from the novel by Patricia Highsmith, this timeless suspense classic is one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. Special 75th
Anniversary showing!
TICKETS & MORE INFORMATION
To purchase passes and tickets and the complete festival lineup on the Florida Film Festival, visit https://floridafilmfestival.com.
Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Education, Business, Spirituality, Health and Wellness, and Cuisine.
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