I was extremely lucky to be part of history earlier this month, when America’s first conservative film festival took place in Dallas, Texas.  The American Renaissance Film Festival was scheduled for the third anniversary weekend of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it was a fitting tribute.  I was there to accompany my mother, Mara Wallis, whose documentary, Entertaining Vietnam, screened at the festival.

Vietnam loomed large at the festival, thanks in great part to John Kerry, who foolishly built his whole presidential campaign on a house of cards.  In a weird way, we can thank Kerry for finally allowing Vietnam veterans to address the gaping wound that was Vietnam and its aftermath.  More than anything I’d seen or read up until that point, two films at this festival proved without a doubt that America lost the war in Vietnam, not on the battlefield, but at home -- through the media and the anti-war movement. 

Produced by Don and Annette Hall, Silent Victory tells the story of Company F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry, otherwise known as the “lurps.”  The lurps’ stealth, skill, bravery, and leadership made them one of the most successful units in the war.  Not only did they save countless American lives, but they also influenced military techniques for years to come.  According to the documentary’s website, “American troops were able to thwart the attempted invasion of Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive” solely because of “the early warning” from the lurps.  In fact, almost all of the veterans interviewed in the film recount their confusion upon hearing that the Tet Offensive had been lost.  As one of them put it, “I thought we won?” 

The film documents journalist Walter Cronkite’s role in declaring to television audiences that the Tet Offensive was an American failure.  At that point, remarked one of the veterans in the film, “it seemed like they just didn’t want to win the war anymore.”  And the way these soldiers were treated when they returned home was recounted in all its shameful glory.  It was, indeed, as one of them put it in the film, “a stain on the American people.”

Such is the legacy of now Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, according to 17 former POWs interviewed in Stolen Honor, which premiered at the festival. Three of the POWs attended the screening and were treated to a well-deserved standing ovation both before and after.  In the film, they state unequivocally that John Kerry’s 1971 testimony before the U. S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (in which he accused American soldiers in Vietnam of being “war criminals”) was used by their communist captors to torture them further.  Actual recordings of the testimony were played to POWs in order to taunt and weaken them into confession.  Footage of one such prisoner, Navy pilot Jeremiah Denton, shows him blinking the Morse code for “torture” with his eyes. 

Produced by Red, White and Blue Productions and narrated by its president, investigative reporter and Vietnam veteran Carlton Sherwood, the documentary’s impact was all the more immediate with the upcoming election at hand. What these POWs withheld in order to avoid giving aid and comfort to America’s enemies, Kerry offered without ceremony.  And his 1970 meeting with the North Vietnamese delegations in Paris only furthered the damage.   That such a man could be America’s next president is a frightening prospect indeed.

Other luminaries of the 1960’s anti-war movement such as activist Tom Hayden, actress Jane Fonda, and folksinger Joan Baez are also in the film.  One former POW describes having to stand for 96 hours in his cell at the “Hanoi Hilton” while outside he could see Tom Hayden meeting with his jailers.  Archival footage actually shows Joan Baez at one of the camps, singing and playing guitar while American POWs are forced to listen.  POWs were also forced to meet with Jane Fonda, who later declared their treatment humane and the American war effort lost. The fact that Kerry’s photo is included in Ho Chi Minh City's Protestors Hall of the War Remnants Museum and Fonda’s in the Women’s Museum in Saigon speaks volumes.  If actions such as these don’t constitute treason, then what does? 

Beyond the Vietnam War, another star of the festival was Michael Wilson’s Michael Moore Hates America.  Despite its provocative title, the film was less of an attack on Michael Moore than an homage to America.  Filmmaker and narrator Michael Wilson, a regular Joe from the heartland, embodies all that Michael Moore pretends to be.  Wilson comes across as sincere, sweet, in touch with mainstream America, and most importantly, honest.  After resorting temporarily to the unscrupulous methods usually favored by Moore, Wilson not only apologizes to the subject at hand, but also includes the whole incident in his film. 

In an ironic turn, Moore, who once chased down corporate executives for interviews in his television show TV Nation, now embodies the elusive figure in the limousine.  By avoiding Wilson’s repeated requests for an interview, the hunter has become the hunted.  And Wilson’s attempts to track Moore down are as hilarious as they are heartfelt.

Moore’s conspiratorial tendencies, manipulations, and outright lies are laid bare.  But instead of simply calling Moore a liar, Wilson takes the audience through the bizarre recesses of Moore’s mind.  The film even includes an interview with a psychiatrist who diagnoses Moore with “narcissistic personality disorder” and calls him a “pathological liar.”  His extreme self-loathing, evident in his attacks on successful, white, American men like himself, is also examined. 

It’s a wonderfully optimistic film, but liberals in attendance, namely members of the press, just didn’t get it.  One could be overheard after the screening saying, “There’s so much hate in this room.”  A member of the theater staff (who was otherwise fantastic) remarked to a co-worker that the subject of another film was a typical “intolerant conservative.” 

Filmmakers gave interviews galore but those in the know were cautious about their expectations.  Many a conservative has had the rude awakening of giving what they thought was a pleasant interview only to find their words distorted or selectively highlighted by unscrupulous journalists.  Brian Curtis’ nasty article on the festival at Slate.com is a perfect example.  After attending the festival and conducting numerous interviews with the many varied filmmakers in attendance, Curtis implied that the gathering smacked of “Nazism.” As he put it: “aspiring right-wing auteurs suggested that if we could just get back to the values of Casablanca -- you know, Nazism, adultery, casino gaming -- the studios would make movies worth watching again.”  In doing so, Curtis demonstrates the same type of narrow-mindedness he accuses festival attendees of exhibiting.     
 
Whatever the cynical claims of the media, those who attended the American Renaissance Film Festival will remember it not just for its hard-hitting moments, but also for its inspirational ones.  If only for one weekend, festival attendees could be unabashedly proud of their country and of the many sacrifices its fighting forces have made throughout the world.  As Vietnam veteran Rick Schwab put it, “America’s legacy is one of liberation.”  The tears in his eyes as he spoke said more about America than anything else.    

Cinnamon Stillwell is a contributing editor to ChronWatch.com.  Her articles have also appeared at OpinionEditorials.com, FrontPageMag.com, Jewish Press, and Israel National News.

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