American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi
Encyclopedia
American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi is a documentary film by British filmmaker Sebastian Doggart
that portrays the life and career of former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
.
and Fahrenheit 9/11
. Unlike those films, however, it is told entirely through expert interviewees, favorable and critical, and the testimony of Rice herself. There is no voice-over narration, a technique that heightens the film's objectivity. There are exclusive interviews with three of Rice's most authoritative biographers: Marcus Mabry, an editor at the New York Times and author of Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and her path to power; Glenn Kessler, Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist, diplomatic correspondent at the Washington Post and author of The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy; and Antonia Felix, author of Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story.
; her short-lived music career; her fascination with Joseph Stalin
and Ronald Reagan
; her close friendship with George W. Bush; right up to a defense of her record in government. The film gives voice to numerous supporters of Rice, including both Presidents Bush; her stepmother Clara Bailey Rice; Oprah Winfrey
(who remarks that "I've never been more proud to say the word W-O-M-A-N than after meeting Condoleezza Rice"); mentor and later critic, Brent Scowcroft
; her former fiancé, Rick Upchurch
; John McCain
who praises her as "a great American"; former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
; Dick Cheney
; and Arnold Schwarzenegger
.
The film charts Rice's discovery of her love of politics at the University of Denver
, and her pursuit and use of power. The title's reference to Faust
echoes allegations made by various interviewees in the film that she sacrificed her principles in exchange for political power. Author Laura Flanders
relates how she rolled back affirmative action policies while Stanford University Provost, and how she was such a loyal board member for Chevron
(despite its involvement with the Nigerian government in violently repressing Ogoni tribespeople) that they named an oil tanker after her. Her record as National Security Advisor is attacked by CIA Director George Tenet
, Counter-Terrorism chief (1992–2003) Richard Clarke
and author Philip Shenon. They allege that she ignored various warnings in the spring and summer of 2001 that an Al Qaeda attack was about to happen. Shenon alleges that "it was both incompetence and negligence." Rice responds to these allegations: "I just don't buy the argument that we weren't shaking the trees enough and that something was gonna to fall out that gave us somehow that little piece of information that would have led to connecting all of those dots."
Kessler and Mabry concur that, after 9/11, she abandoned realism and advocacy of a humble foreign policy, and became a neo-conservative idealist (hence the film's subtitle, 'from Condi to Neo-Condi'). With huge political pressure coming from Donald Rumsfeld
and Dick Cheney
to invade Iraq, Lawrence Wilkerson
, Colin Powell
's Chief of Staff, says she deliberately exaggerated the case for war ("we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"). http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/10/wbr.smoking.gun/ Congressman Robert Wexler
says that Rice misled the American public on 56 occasions, which Rice denies: "I did not pump up anything". Eleanor Clift
, (Editor of Newsweek) and Richard Ben-Veniste
(9/11 Commissioner), point to the many techniques that Rice used – wordplay, filibustering, claims of amnesia – to avoid telling the truth. Investigating her record on race, Marcus Mabry states that it was Hurricane Katrina
when black Americans realized she was not fighting their corner. Spike Lee
criticizes her for going shoe shopping on Madison Avenue while the levees were breaking. Critics also question her record as Secretary of State, especially her handling of the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater
contractors in her hire. Erica Razook of Amnesty International
, states that Rice acted to protect the State Department's $1bn contract with Blackwater by pardoning the killers and offering only $10,000 in compensation. That response, according to US Congressman David Price
, inflamed Iraqi anger towards all Americans. Price says: "It contradicts our values. It makes us out to be hypocrites. It puts our military personnel in jeopardy. All I can see is a dereliction of duty. At virtually any level you'd want to assess this, this is a disaster for our country."
The film documents Rice's vigorous support for the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, which she describes as "a necessity because of the War on Terror." Most notably in terms of historical discovery, the film reveals that it was National Security Advisor Rice who directly authorized the CIA to use torture techniques in 'black sites' around the world. Glenn Kessler
says: "These 'enhanced interrogation methods' included water-boarding, fingernail extraction, and sleep deprivation. Condi signed off on the orders to the CIA with the words, 'This is your Baby, go do it!'" Richard Clarke
concurs: "Rice decided what torture to use on what person." Rice denies these allegations, saying "we did not torture anybody". This statement is then contradicted by interviews with individuals subjected to these interrogation techniques: British detainee Binyam Mohamed describes how he had his penis cut, and acid poured into the wounds; Khalid El-Masri
relates how he was drugged, sodomized and imprisoned without charges, an allegation supported by the American Civil Liberties Union
Abu Omar
describes how he was tied to a wet mattress and electrocuted; and Mamdouh Habib
claims he had his fingernails torn out. The film is the first to draw the dots between Rice as NSA, through the CIA, to the actual individuals who underwent the 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' The film was also the first source to reveal the 'black site' countries to which Rice and the CIA sent detainees to be interrogated, including Thailand
, Somalia
, Italy
, Kenya
, Ethiopia
, Syria
, Afghanistan
, Uzbekistan
, Jordan
, Macedonia
, Egypt
, Morocco
, Azerbaijan
, as well as the 'torture ships' USS Peleliu, USS Bataan, and USS Ashland.
, which was also directed by Sebastian Doggart
. Some of the same interviewees feature in both films. Aside from that, the movies are different, both stylistically and in terms of the more updated biographical and investigative content of American Faust. A rough cut of the film screened by Amnesty International
at Stanford University
on February 3, 2009, to coincide with Rice's return to Stanford University
. The film screened at the Starz Denver Film festival on November 21, 2009 and received a pre-theatrical release on DVD and download-to-own with the pioneering home cinema distributor IndiesDirect on December 9, 2009. It was released theatrically in January 2010, with a premiere at the Denver Starz FilmCenter.
. Uniquely for a political documentary, the score is to be performed live alongside the actual film by Lucas and Engelhardt.
. It won the Golden Palm Award for Best Documentary at the Mexico International Film Festival.
"Exceptional and shocking. A polished, traditional documentary, Faust gives us unprecedented access and insider insight into Rice's role in Washington including the failure to pass along warning memos pre 9/11 to Bush's desk as well as her involvement in approving devastating torture interrogation techniques and shipping off suspects to other countries where more extreme measures were in dominant practice. Extremely timely and vital for American viewers to explore, Faust leaves us with both the question of how a person can change so much and additionally, wondering whether Rice or other staffers are guilty of war crimes. A triumph in independent documentary filmmaking precisely because it took the personal autobiographical feel of the first “festival circuit” feature as a jumping off point, American Faust is on par with hard-hitting documentaries including No End in Sight, Maxed Out, Rethink Afghanistan, and Fahrenheit 9/11, and ensures that Sebastian Doggart is a name you won't soon forget." Film Intuition http://reviews.filmintuition.com/2010/01/dvd-reviews-courting-condi-and-american.html
"The Must-See Film Premiere in Denver This Weekend. It was Condoleezza Rice who ordered the CIA to use torture techniques including genital mutilation, fingernail extraction and electrocution in countries across the world. This is the chilling accusation made by documentarian Sebastian Doggart in his new film, American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi. The Denver Film Festival has secured what is sure to be the controversial, but never-the-less, must-see world premiere screening of the film scheduled for this weekend. This film is Doggart's follow-up to his critically acclaimed (and first-ever musical docu-tragi-comedy) Courting Condi
. His scathing portrayals of Rice focus largely on the human rights consequences of Bush administration policies, responsibility for which Doggart's films lay at the feet of the former Secretary of State. "Prosecutor John Durham is investigating the wrong people," says filmmaker Sebastian Doggart. "The CIA agents who carried out these interrogations were acting under orders which came directly from the chair of the Group of Principals, Condoleezza Rice. Under the principle of command responsibility, she is accountable." The legacy of Condeleezza Rice and the Bush Administration is still too fresh for the benefit of historical perspective, but as the Obama Administration fights to close GITMO, find its footing in Afghanistan, and halt the use of 'enhanced interrogation' techniques, many of their policies continue to dominate the national scene. American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi offers a no-holds-barred perspective on how we got to where we are - and who is responsible." - Nathan Havey, Huffington Post
"The first third or more of this film is about Condoleezza Rice's childhood and academic career, as well as her early entry into politics. This part of the documentary is exactly how docs should be shot, and would make veteran documentary directors like Albert Maysles proud... Regardless if you are a Republican or a Democrat (hell, Condi was both), you would do well to take a peek at this documentary as it gives some great insight into the political process from several points of view close to Condoleezza, and from moments that have been recorded throughout her career... It is certainly shot well, it keeps attention focused (which can sometimes be hard to do with a documentary), and makes you both sympathize with and hate the subject all within the span of an hour and a half." -- Film Snobbery
"With Hillary Clinton sworn in as her successor at the State Department, Condoleezza Rice
has signed up for representation by the William Morris Agency talent agency and headed back to her academic alma mater, Stanford, to lecture, teach, write books and play the piano. But a British film-maker is determined to make her return to campus in California rather less smooth than she might have wished. On Tuesday night, the college's Amnesty International chapter will host the screening of a new documentary 'American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi', made by director Sebastian Doggart
. Based on testimony from both supporters and critics, the film makes a number of damning accusations about her time as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Most explosive is the coverage of her role as chair of the group of 'Principals' (Vice-President Dick Cheney and then defense secretary Donald Rumseld were also members) who allegedly signed off on CIA "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as water-boarding for terror suspects. That technique has been described as torture by defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain and new Attorney General Eric Holder
, among many others. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Colin Powell who was Secretary of State at the time of those Principals meetings, tells Doggart: "I think Americans should be appalled that Dr Rice was sitting there giving the orders to water-board." ABC News ran a piece last year on Rice's role as chair of the Principal's meetings during the interrogation discussions but the US media has seemed less than interested in putting her involvement under the microscope." -- Philip Sherwell, The Daily Telegraph
"This is a must-see documentary on several different levels. Sebastian Doggart
's award-winning film explains in depth how the ten year old girl who confidently told her father she would someday be in the White House got there and what happened when she did. The investigative documentary has no narration but is instead told entirely through interview clips of Condoleezza herself, her family, former fiancé Rick Upchurch
, professors, mentors like Brent Scowcroft
, colleagues like Richard Clarke and Lawrence Wilkerson
, her supporters and her critics, and several authors and experts. Three of Rice's best biographers backstop the timeline from Rice's birth in 1954 to her 2009 departure from the office of Secretary of State: Marcus Mabry, an editor at the New York Times and author of Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and her path to power; Glenn Kessler, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, diplomatic correspondent at the Washington Post and author of The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy; and Antonia Felix, author of Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story. The film's progression draws viewers into the personal side of Rice's Faustian bargain, as well informing them about key portions of the Bush Administration's role instituting torture tactics in violation of international and national laws. The importance of the documentary for educating people at this moment can't be over-emphasized as the Obama Administration and the U.S. court system continue to hear calls for justice and accountability just as Condi denies it all, saying "we did not torture anyone" and embarks on her national speaking campaign to rewrite history. We unfortunately did not watch American Faust in the Twin Cities until three weeks after Condi made a big-buck appearance here, attempting to revise history at a fundraiser for the Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Human rights activists would be far better equipped to counter-act Condoleezza's continuing cover-up if they could get the truth out through a public showing of the film before her visits. Rice might remember (as I vaguely do since we were both born in 1954) the popular TV show This Is Your Life that ran from 1952 - 1961. Let's just say that it's a safe guess the 50s' first reality show tried to avoid problem areas to the extent possible and never would have dared to try profiling a former high government official complicit in torture or other war crimes. That however, is the singular audacity of American Faust. Since hardly anything shocks anymore on current "reality TV," and the Bush Administration's "Steel Magnolia" managed to live up to her description when the 9-11 Commission and Senate Committees asked their toughest questions of her, I couldn't help imagining how Sebastian Doggart's impeccably researched documentary functions as a new type of This Is Your Life trying to wring some emotion and realization of the truth out of its guest star. It could happen someday that the woman who gave the OK to CIA waterboarding and other torture, could face something even more painful: a real criminal inquiry. British authorities recently forced former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
to answer hard questions about his role in ginning up the invasion of Iraq implicating Bush officials like Rice and more and more information could come out in the Binyam Mohamed lawsuit about Rice's role in approving "extraordinary renditions" and terrible tortures conducted in black sites. Ultimately, as all who watch Doggart's documentary will appreciate, the truth of Rice's Faustian bargain is actually much more fascinating than her attempts to revise history. And that's one of the reasons that history and truth will not be so easily swept aside and are bound to prevail in this tragic case. Members of university history departments will therefore top the list of those invited to the Twin Cities premiere we're organizing for American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi. If you're not in the Twin Cities, organize your own showing! Better yet, use this great documentary as a preface to academic debate or panel discussion. You don't have to wait for a public showing but can easily now buy your own DVD or watch the film on-line through Indiesdirect.com. While you're at it, get an extra copy to share with your local U.S. Attorney." -- Coleen Rowley
(FBI Special Agent-turned-Whistleblower & 2002 Time Magazine Person of the Year), Huffington Post
"The Montreal International Black Film Festival has greater English-language programming, especially notable in the excellent film, the Canadian premiere of 'American Faust: From Condo to Neo-Condi', a damning indictment of Condoleezza Rice and her role in the Iraq war. Award-winning director Sebastian Doggart's doc starts off as a sympathetic portrait of the political rise of Condoleezza Rice, but 20 minutes in, the gloves come off and Rice is quickly portrayed as a power-hungry hawk who keeps her eyes on the prize, no matter the cost. One cannot help but agree by film's end that Rice is a war criminal. A brave film which, while damning white oppressors - something that is easy to do - also exposes negative forces within the black community, something which even today remains difficult to do. " Bugs Burnett -- Hour http://www.hour.ca/film/film.aspx?iIDArticle=20479
"The documentary "American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi" illustrates a different side of Condoleezza Rice than the one often portrayed in the media. The film is by no means pro-Condi. In fact, it is balanced between Rice's successes and failures, strengths and faults. The profile is quite compelling and intelligent, transitioning between personal one-on-one interviews, video clips, graphic timelines, and photos. It eloquently presents the transformation of Condoleezza from a little girl growing up and dreaming in Birmingham, Alabama to a young woman thriving in her academic endeavors to the political powerhouse breaking barriers and setting new heights. After watching this film, Rice will no doubt become the new "it" woman of choice in college essays. Move over Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt
." - Shanece's Compass,
"An exceptional, enormously important film -- one that, hopefully, will contribute to the historical judgment of the ill-conceived policies of the Bush administration and her role in formulating and executing those policies." -- Ron Henderson, Founding Director, Starz Denver Film Festival & Denver Film Society
"She chose power over love," says Condoleezza Rice's ex-fiance, whom she ditched at the almost-altar in order to fly off to D.C. and start her power-climbing. "She picked empire and colonialism over being a concert pianist," says one of her ex-mentors. Welcome to the greatest hits against the woman who taught George W. Bush where Iraq was and then helped him invade it without cause, destroying America's reputation and her own in the process. These hits are delivered with relish and venom—by a who's who of people who made Rice what she used to be before she became something else—and by the end of the unsparing documentary you will actually feel sorry for her, which is quite a cinematic achievement. -- Eli Sanders, The Stranger
"The title says it all: This scathing documentary presents former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a ruthlessly ambitious power-seeker who plotted her course to the White House from the age of 10, then made a devil's deal once she got there... Filmmaker Sebastian Doggart gathers excoriating testimonials from those who've seen Condi's dark side, damning evidence that exposes Rice as a tragic figure who betrayed her values in the process of selling her soul." — Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
"Condoleezza Rice is a war criminal. And she has gotten away with it, whether out of fear of her power by those who should be pressing charges, or by indifference to the atrocities she initiated/allowed/ordered. After seeing this documentary film, which I recommend you do, you cannot plead ignorance any more of her involvement in torture, pardoning of the Blackwater killers, and starting a war and continuing said war under false pretenses. The film, by director Sebastian Doggart, takes a more objective approach, tracking Condoleezza's life from her early days in segregated Alabama all the way to her time as US Secretary of State. Along the timeline, as the Faustian title suggests, Condoleezza makes decisions, takes opportunities, that increase her power while her ideals drop off one by one, seemingly without emotion. There is no narration in this documentary. It relies solely on interviews, testimonials, news clips, and expert opinions of people in Rice's life, with both positive and negative impact. Condoleezza's life is such an interesting story about an intelligent and compelling woman, and if it was fiction I would love the twists it takes. The problem is that it is real and it is horrifying. Left unchecked, power leads to corruption, and in the name of protection, through pre-emptive strikes and enhanced torture techniques, to the demise of any moral standing our country could wish to have. This is a well-made and compelling film which I would recommend everyone watch. But don't just watch it. Act upon it. Write to your Congressperson. Demand action be taken. Commit to seeing this documentary. The decisions, past and present, the people in government make ripple through the world. The bad decisions, some made for personal gain, some for seemingly the right reasons but with the wrong tactics, can accumulate into a tidal wave of hatred which we may not be able to stop. We need to act now and hold accountable those who made the decisions, by using the laws we have established so these crimes should not have happened in the first place. Otherwise, what are we but complicit? You can buy or download this film from indiesdirect.com starting December 2, 2009 or find out more at americanfaust.com. Also, you can become a fan of American Faust on Facebook to stay up to date with the film's developments." - Rick DeMint, Portroids
"The first half hour of this documentary feels like an infomercial about former National Security Advisor/Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But then her true colors are revealed; this is one determined woman who never took her eye off the ball, switching political parties as needed (it will probably surprise some to learn that Rice has been a democrat) in the interest of advancing her career. But the question of what she may have lost in the process lies at the heart of Doggart's searing film, most tellingly when the issue of what is or isn't torture is discussed (a part that will make more sensitive viewers squeamish). The larger question — is it worth sacrificing principles in the pursuit of power? — is left for the viewer to decide." -- Gillian G. Gaar, Seattle Pop Culture Examiner
"American Faust is a thoroughly researched 89-minute documentary about Condoleezza Rice from her childhood during the civil rights era in Birmingham to her authorization of illegal torture during the Bush administration. It shows her turning her back on affirmative action for others after she herself benefited from it, lying to the American public about Iraq, and lending P.R. cover to Chevron to the point that it named an oil tanker after her. Today, Stanford University students are trying to get her ousted as a professor because of her role in illegal torture. -- World Wide Work
"Un dur documentaire sur Condoleezza Rice, une femme extraordinaire, mais peu comprise, qui est passée de la ségrégation en Alabama à devenir la femme la plus puissante du monde. Incisif et choquant, c’est le premier film rétrospectif sur l’administration Bush. Il renverse la fausse idée populaire que Rice est une femme qui approuve tout du président Bush et révèle qu’elle est plutôt sa confidente la plus durable, et donc en grande partie responsable de l’héritage Bush." -- Black Au Quebec http://blackauquebec.com/?p=436
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
that portrays the life and career of former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
.
Style
The film is an investigative documentary, in the style of Taxi to the Dark SideTaxi to the Dark Side
Taxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, and produced by Eva Orner and Susannah Shipman, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature...
and Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
. Unlike those films, however, it is told entirely through expert interviewees, favorable and critical, and the testimony of Rice herself. There is no voice-over narration, a technique that heightens the film's objectivity. There are exclusive interviews with three of Rice's most authoritative biographers: Marcus Mabry, an editor at the New York Times and author of Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and her path to power; Glenn Kessler, Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning journalist, diplomatic correspondent at the Washington Post and author of The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy; and Antonia Felix, author of Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story.
Synopsis
The film tells the story of Rice's life from her birth in 1954 to her 2009 departure from office as Secretary of State, and her return to Stanford University. Rice is a key interviewee in the film: she speaks about her roots in racially explosive BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
; her short-lived music career; her fascination with Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
; her close friendship with George W. Bush; right up to a defense of her record in government. The film gives voice to numerous supporters of Rice, including both Presidents Bush; her stepmother Clara Bailey Rice; Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
(who remarks that "I've never been more proud to say the word W-O-M-A-N than after meeting Condoleezza Rice"); mentor and later critic, Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft, KBE was the United States National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National...
; her former fiancé, Rick Upchurch
Rick Upchurch
Richard “Rick” Upchurch is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. Before his NFL career, he played for Centerville Community College in Centerville, Iowa and the University of Minnesota and went to high school at Springfield...
; John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
who praises her as "a great American"; former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
; Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
; and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
.
The film charts Rice's discovery of her love of politics at the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
, and her pursuit and use of power. The title's reference to Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
echoes allegations made by various interviewees in the film that she sacrificed her principles in exchange for political power. Author Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders is a British-American journalist who presents the current events show GRITtv, broadcast weekdays on Link and Free Speech TV....
relates how she rolled back affirmative action policies while Stanford University Provost, and how she was such a loyal board member for Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
(despite its involvement with the Nigerian government in violently repressing Ogoni tribespeople) that they named an oil tanker after her. Her record as National Security Advisor is attacked by CIA Director George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
, Counter-Terrorism chief (1992–2003) Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke may refer to:* Richard Clarke , Jamaican boxer* Richard Clarke , Northern Irish footballer with Portadown* Richard Clarke , Northern Irish footballer with Newry City & Glentoran...
and author Philip Shenon. They allege that she ignored various warnings in the spring and summer of 2001 that an Al Qaeda attack was about to happen. Shenon alleges that "it was both incompetence and negligence." Rice responds to these allegations: "I just don't buy the argument that we weren't shaking the trees enough and that something was gonna to fall out that gave us somehow that little piece of information that would have led to connecting all of those dots."
Kessler and Mabry concur that, after 9/11, she abandoned realism and advocacy of a humble foreign policy, and became a neo-conservative idealist (hence the film's subtitle, 'from Condi to Neo-Condi'). With huge political pressure coming from Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
and Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
to invade Iraq, Lawrence Wilkerson
Lawrence Wilkerson
Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell...
, Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
's Chief of Staff, says she deliberately exaggerated the case for war ("we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud"). http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/10/wbr.smoking.gun/ Congressman Robert Wexler
Robert Wexler
Robert Wexler is the president of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.Wexler was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing , from 1997 until his resignation on January 3, 2010.-Early life:Wexler was born in Queens, New York to Sonny and...
says that Rice misled the American public on 56 occasions, which Rice denies: "I did not pump up anything". Eleanor Clift
Eleanor Clift
Eleanor Clift is a political reporter, television pundit and author. She is currently a contributing editor for Newsweek magazine. Her column, "Capitol Letter" is posted each week on the Newsweek and MSNBC websites...
, (Editor of Newsweek) and Richard Ben-Veniste
Richard Ben-Veniste
Richard Ben-Veniste , is an American lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. He has also been a member of the 9/11 Commission. He is known for his pointed questions and criticisms of members of both the Clinton and George W...
(9/11 Commissioner), point to the many techniques that Rice used – wordplay, filibustering, claims of amnesia – to avoid telling the truth. Investigating her record on race, Marcus Mabry states that it was Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
when black Americans realized she was not fighting their corner. Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
criticizes her for going shoe shopping on Madison Avenue while the levees were breaking. Critics also question her record as Secretary of State, especially her handling of the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
contractors in her hire. Erica Razook of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, states that Rice acted to protect the State Department's $1bn contract with Blackwater by pardoning the killers and offering only $10,000 in compensation. That response, according to US Congressman David Price
David Price (American politician)
David Eugene Price is a professor and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997 and previously from 1987 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, inflamed Iraqi anger towards all Americans. Price says: "It contradicts our values. It makes us out to be hypocrites. It puts our military personnel in jeopardy. All I can see is a dereliction of duty. At virtually any level you'd want to assess this, this is a disaster for our country."
The film documents Rice's vigorous support for the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, which she describes as "a necessity because of the War on Terror." Most notably in terms of historical discovery, the film reveals that it was National Security Advisor Rice who directly authorized the CIA to use torture techniques in 'black sites' around the world. Glenn Kessler
Glenn Kessler
Glenn Kessler is a veteran diplomatic correspondent who writes the popular "Fact Checker" column for The Washington Post, in which he examines the truth behind political and diplomatic rhetoric.-Career:...
says: "These 'enhanced interrogation methods' included water-boarding, fingernail extraction, and sleep deprivation. Condi signed off on the orders to the CIA with the words, 'This is your Baby, go do it!'" Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke may refer to:* Richard Clarke , Jamaican boxer* Richard Clarke , Northern Irish footballer with Portadown* Richard Clarke , Northern Irish footballer with Newry City & Glentoran...
concurs: "Rice decided what torture to use on what person." Rice denies these allegations, saying "we did not torture anybody". This statement is then contradicted by interviews with individuals subjected to these interrogation techniques: British detainee Binyam Mohamed describes how he had his penis cut, and acid poured into the wounds; Khalid El-Masri
Khalid El-Masri
Khalid El-Masri is a German citizen who was kidnapped in the Republic of Macedonia, flown to Afghanistan, allegedly beaten, stripped, raped, and interrogated and tortured by the CIA for several months as a part of the War on Terror, and then released...
relates how he was drugged, sodomized and imprisoned without charges, an allegation supported by the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
Abu Omar
Abu Omar
Abu Omar may refer to:*Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi , also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Iraqi insurgent*Abu Omar al-Kurdi, real name Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Jaaf, bomb maker who worked in Iraq...
describes how he was tied to a wet mattress and electrocuted; and Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib is an Egyptian born Australian Muslim best known for his extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism....
claims he had his fingernails torn out. The film is the first to draw the dots between Rice as NSA, through the CIA, to the actual individuals who underwent the 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' The film was also the first source to reveal the 'black site' countries to which Rice and the CIA sent detainees to be interrogated, including Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, as well as the 'torture ships' USS Peleliu, USS Bataan, and USS Ashland.
History
The film originated out of the musical-docu-tragi-comedy Courting CondiCourting Condi
Courting Condi is a 2008 film by British filmmaker Sebastian Doggart that portrays the quest of a love-struck man, actor Devin Ratray, who wants to win the heart of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.-Plot:...
, which was also directed by Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
. Some of the same interviewees feature in both films. Aside from that, the movies are different, both stylistically and in terms of the more updated biographical and investigative content of American Faust. A rough cut of the film screened by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
on February 3, 2009, to coincide with Rice's return to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. The film screened at the Starz Denver Film festival on November 21, 2009 and received a pre-theatrical release on DVD and download-to-own with the pioneering home cinema distributor IndiesDirect on December 9, 2009. It was released theatrically in January 2010, with a premiere at the Denver Starz FilmCenter.
Music
The film features a score by composer Cheryl B. Engelhardt, with additional scoring by legendary guitarist Gary LucasGary Lucas
Gary Lucas is an American guitarist, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, a soundtrack composer for film and television, and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date. He has been described as "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" ; a "legendary leftfield...
. Uniquely for a political documentary, the score is to be performed live alongside the actual film by Lucas and Engelhardt.
Awards
The movie won the Jury Prize for best feature documentary and the Golden Trophy at the Ismailia International Film festival in Egypt. It won runner-up for Best Documentary at both the Marbella International Film Festival in Spain and the Treasure Coast International Film Festival in Florida, USA. It was nominated for Best Documentary at both the New Hampshire Film Festival, and the Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales. It was nominated for the prestigious Maysles Brothers Award for documentary at the Starz Denver Film FestivalDenver Film Festival
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...
. It won the Golden Palm Award for Best Documentary at the Mexico International Film Festival.
Reviews
"American Faust makes the case that the correct word to be spelling Condoleezza Rice is probably 'torturer'… The film paints a chilling picture of Rice's role in the administrations of the Bush family, and also in our lives… This film is really very good... I really appreciated, on behalf of everybody I think, that you're taking a look at Condoleezza today, not just letting her disappear into the sands of history…. Torture is at the heart of the film and I think it's what makes the film so really strong." – Laura Flanders, GritTV"Exceptional and shocking. A polished, traditional documentary, Faust gives us unprecedented access and insider insight into Rice's role in Washington including the failure to pass along warning memos pre 9/11 to Bush's desk as well as her involvement in approving devastating torture interrogation techniques and shipping off suspects to other countries where more extreme measures were in dominant practice. Extremely timely and vital for American viewers to explore, Faust leaves us with both the question of how a person can change so much and additionally, wondering whether Rice or other staffers are guilty of war crimes. A triumph in independent documentary filmmaking precisely because it took the personal autobiographical feel of the first “festival circuit” feature as a jumping off point, American Faust is on par with hard-hitting documentaries including No End in Sight, Maxed Out, Rethink Afghanistan, and Fahrenheit 9/11, and ensures that Sebastian Doggart is a name you won't soon forget." Film Intuition http://reviews.filmintuition.com/2010/01/dvd-reviews-courting-condi-and-american.html
"The Must-See Film Premiere in Denver This Weekend. It was Condoleezza Rice who ordered the CIA to use torture techniques including genital mutilation, fingernail extraction and electrocution in countries across the world. This is the chilling accusation made by documentarian Sebastian Doggart in his new film, American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi. The Denver Film Festival has secured what is sure to be the controversial, but never-the-less, must-see world premiere screening of the film scheduled for this weekend. This film is Doggart's follow-up to his critically acclaimed (and first-ever musical docu-tragi-comedy) Courting Condi
Courting Condi
Courting Condi is a 2008 film by British filmmaker Sebastian Doggart that portrays the quest of a love-struck man, actor Devin Ratray, who wants to win the heart of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.-Plot:...
. His scathing portrayals of Rice focus largely on the human rights consequences of Bush administration policies, responsibility for which Doggart's films lay at the feet of the former Secretary of State. "Prosecutor John Durham is investigating the wrong people," says filmmaker Sebastian Doggart. "The CIA agents who carried out these interrogations were acting under orders which came directly from the chair of the Group of Principals, Condoleezza Rice. Under the principle of command responsibility, she is accountable." The legacy of Condeleezza Rice and the Bush Administration is still too fresh for the benefit of historical perspective, but as the Obama Administration fights to close GITMO, find its footing in Afghanistan, and halt the use of 'enhanced interrogation' techniques, many of their policies continue to dominate the national scene. American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi offers a no-holds-barred perspective on how we got to where we are - and who is responsible." - Nathan Havey, Huffington Post
"The first third or more of this film is about Condoleezza Rice's childhood and academic career, as well as her early entry into politics. This part of the documentary is exactly how docs should be shot, and would make veteran documentary directors like Albert Maysles proud... Regardless if you are a Republican or a Democrat (hell, Condi was both), you would do well to take a peek at this documentary as it gives some great insight into the political process from several points of view close to Condoleezza, and from moments that have been recorded throughout her career... It is certainly shot well, it keeps attention focused (which can sometimes be hard to do with a documentary), and makes you both sympathize with and hate the subject all within the span of an hour and a half." -- Film Snobbery
"With Hillary Clinton sworn in as her successor at the State Department, Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
has signed up for representation by the William Morris Agency talent agency and headed back to her academic alma mater, Stanford, to lecture, teach, write books and play the piano. But a British film-maker is determined to make her return to campus in California rather less smooth than she might have wished. On Tuesday night, the college's Amnesty International chapter will host the screening of a new documentary 'American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi', made by director Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
. Based on testimony from both supporters and critics, the film makes a number of damning accusations about her time as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Most explosive is the coverage of her role as chair of the group of 'Principals' (Vice-President Dick Cheney and then defense secretary Donald Rumseld were also members) who allegedly signed off on CIA "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as water-boarding for terror suspects. That technique has been described as torture by defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain and new Attorney General Eric Holder
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
, among many others. Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff to Colin Powell who was Secretary of State at the time of those Principals meetings, tells Doggart: "I think Americans should be appalled that Dr Rice was sitting there giving the orders to water-board." ABC News ran a piece last year on Rice's role as chair of the Principal's meetings during the interrogation discussions but the US media has seemed less than interested in putting her involvement under the microscope." -- Philip Sherwell, The Daily Telegraph
"This is a must-see documentary on several different levels. Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart is an English and American producer, director, writer, translator, cinematographer and human rights activist.-Education:...
's award-winning film explains in depth how the ten year old girl who confidently told her father she would someday be in the White House got there and what happened when she did. The investigative documentary has no narration but is instead told entirely through interview clips of Condoleezza herself, her family, former fiancé Rick Upchurch
Rick Upchurch
Richard “Rick” Upchurch is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. Before his NFL career, he played for Centerville Community College in Centerville, Iowa and the University of Minnesota and went to high school at Springfield...
, professors, mentors like Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft, KBE was the United States National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National...
, colleagues like Richard Clarke and Lawrence Wilkerson
Lawrence Wilkerson
Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell...
, her supporters and her critics, and several authors and experts. Three of Rice's best biographers backstop the timeline from Rice's birth in 1954 to her 2009 departure from the office of Secretary of State: Marcus Mabry, an editor at the New York Times and author of Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and her path to power; Glenn Kessler, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, diplomatic correspondent at the Washington Post and author of The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy; and Antonia Felix, author of Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story. The film's progression draws viewers into the personal side of Rice's Faustian bargain, as well informing them about key portions of the Bush Administration's role instituting torture tactics in violation of international and national laws. The importance of the documentary for educating people at this moment can't be over-emphasized as the Obama Administration and the U.S. court system continue to hear calls for justice and accountability just as Condi denies it all, saying "we did not torture anyone" and embarks on her national speaking campaign to rewrite history. We unfortunately did not watch American Faust in the Twin Cities until three weeks after Condi made a big-buck appearance here, attempting to revise history at a fundraiser for the Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Human rights activists would be far better equipped to counter-act Condoleezza's continuing cover-up if they could get the truth out through a public showing of the film before her visits. Rice might remember (as I vaguely do since we were both born in 1954) the popular TV show This Is Your Life that ran from 1952 - 1961. Let's just say that it's a safe guess the 50s' first reality show tried to avoid problem areas to the extent possible and never would have dared to try profiling a former high government official complicit in torture or other war crimes. That however, is the singular audacity of American Faust. Since hardly anything shocks anymore on current "reality TV," and the Bush Administration's "Steel Magnolia" managed to live up to her description when the 9-11 Commission and Senate Committees asked their toughest questions of her, I couldn't help imagining how Sebastian Doggart's impeccably researched documentary functions as a new type of This Is Your Life trying to wring some emotion and realization of the truth out of its guest star. It could happen someday that the woman who gave the OK to CIA waterboarding and other torture, could face something even more painful: a real criminal inquiry. British authorities recently forced former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
to answer hard questions about his role in ginning up the invasion of Iraq implicating Bush officials like Rice and more and more information could come out in the Binyam Mohamed lawsuit about Rice's role in approving "extraordinary renditions" and terrible tortures conducted in black sites. Ultimately, as all who watch Doggart's documentary will appreciate, the truth of Rice's Faustian bargain is actually much more fascinating than her attempts to revise history. And that's one of the reasons that history and truth will not be so easily swept aside and are bound to prevail in this tragic case. Members of university history departments will therefore top the list of those invited to the Twin Cities premiere we're organizing for American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi. If you're not in the Twin Cities, organize your own showing! Better yet, use this great documentary as a preface to academic debate or panel discussion. You don't have to wait for a public showing but can easily now buy your own DVD or watch the film on-line through Indiesdirect.com. While you're at it, get an extra copy to share with your local U.S. Attorney." -- Coleen Rowley
Coleen Rowley
Coleen Rowley is a former FBI agent and whistleblower, and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006...
(FBI Special Agent-turned-Whistleblower & 2002 Time Magazine Person of the Year), Huffington Post
"The Montreal International Black Film Festival has greater English-language programming, especially notable in the excellent film, the Canadian premiere of 'American Faust: From Condo to Neo-Condi', a damning indictment of Condoleezza Rice and her role in the Iraq war. Award-winning director Sebastian Doggart's doc starts off as a sympathetic portrait of the political rise of Condoleezza Rice, but 20 minutes in, the gloves come off and Rice is quickly portrayed as a power-hungry hawk who keeps her eyes on the prize, no matter the cost. One cannot help but agree by film's end that Rice is a war criminal. A brave film which, while damning white oppressors - something that is easy to do - also exposes negative forces within the black community, something which even today remains difficult to do. " Bugs Burnett -- Hour http://www.hour.ca/film/film.aspx?iIDArticle=20479
"The documentary "American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi" illustrates a different side of Condoleezza Rice than the one often portrayed in the media. The film is by no means pro-Condi. In fact, it is balanced between Rice's successes and failures, strengths and faults. The profile is quite compelling and intelligent, transitioning between personal one-on-one interviews, video clips, graphic timelines, and photos. It eloquently presents the transformation of Condoleezza from a little girl growing up and dreaming in Birmingham, Alabama to a young woman thriving in her academic endeavors to the political powerhouse breaking barriers and setting new heights. After watching this film, Rice will no doubt become the new "it" woman of choice in college essays. Move over Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
." - Shanece's Compass,
"An exceptional, enormously important film -- one that, hopefully, will contribute to the historical judgment of the ill-conceived policies of the Bush administration and her role in formulating and executing those policies." -- Ron Henderson, Founding Director, Starz Denver Film Festival & Denver Film Society
"She chose power over love," says Condoleezza Rice's ex-fiance, whom she ditched at the almost-altar in order to fly off to D.C. and start her power-climbing. "She picked empire and colonialism over being a concert pianist," says one of her ex-mentors. Welcome to the greatest hits against the woman who taught George W. Bush where Iraq was and then helped him invade it without cause, destroying America's reputation and her own in the process. These hits are delivered with relish and venom—by a who's who of people who made Rice what she used to be before she became something else—and by the end of the unsparing documentary you will actually feel sorry for her, which is quite a cinematic achievement. -- Eli Sanders, The Stranger
"The title says it all: This scathing documentary presents former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a ruthlessly ambitious power-seeker who plotted her course to the White House from the age of 10, then made a devil's deal once she got there... Filmmaker Sebastian Doggart gathers excoriating testimonials from those who've seen Condi's dark side, damning evidence that exposes Rice as a tragic figure who betrayed her values in the process of selling her soul." — Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
"Condoleezza Rice is a war criminal. And she has gotten away with it, whether out of fear of her power by those who should be pressing charges, or by indifference to the atrocities she initiated/allowed/ordered. After seeing this documentary film, which I recommend you do, you cannot plead ignorance any more of her involvement in torture, pardoning of the Blackwater killers, and starting a war and continuing said war under false pretenses. The film, by director Sebastian Doggart, takes a more objective approach, tracking Condoleezza's life from her early days in segregated Alabama all the way to her time as US Secretary of State. Along the timeline, as the Faustian title suggests, Condoleezza makes decisions, takes opportunities, that increase her power while her ideals drop off one by one, seemingly without emotion. There is no narration in this documentary. It relies solely on interviews, testimonials, news clips, and expert opinions of people in Rice's life, with both positive and negative impact. Condoleezza's life is such an interesting story about an intelligent and compelling woman, and if it was fiction I would love the twists it takes. The problem is that it is real and it is horrifying. Left unchecked, power leads to corruption, and in the name of protection, through pre-emptive strikes and enhanced torture techniques, to the demise of any moral standing our country could wish to have. This is a well-made and compelling film which I would recommend everyone watch. But don't just watch it. Act upon it. Write to your Congressperson. Demand action be taken. Commit to seeing this documentary. The decisions, past and present, the people in government make ripple through the world. The bad decisions, some made for personal gain, some for seemingly the right reasons but with the wrong tactics, can accumulate into a tidal wave of hatred which we may not be able to stop. We need to act now and hold accountable those who made the decisions, by using the laws we have established so these crimes should not have happened in the first place. Otherwise, what are we but complicit? You can buy or download this film from indiesdirect.com starting December 2, 2009 or find out more at americanfaust.com. Also, you can become a fan of American Faust on Facebook to stay up to date with the film's developments." - Rick DeMint, Portroids
"The first half hour of this documentary feels like an infomercial about former National Security Advisor/Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But then her true colors are revealed; this is one determined woman who never took her eye off the ball, switching political parties as needed (it will probably surprise some to learn that Rice has been a democrat) in the interest of advancing her career. But the question of what she may have lost in the process lies at the heart of Doggart's searing film, most tellingly when the issue of what is or isn't torture is discussed (a part that will make more sensitive viewers squeamish). The larger question — is it worth sacrificing principles in the pursuit of power? — is left for the viewer to decide." -- Gillian G. Gaar, Seattle Pop Culture Examiner
"American Faust is a thoroughly researched 89-minute documentary about Condoleezza Rice from her childhood during the civil rights era in Birmingham to her authorization of illegal torture during the Bush administration. It shows her turning her back on affirmative action for others after she herself benefited from it, lying to the American public about Iraq, and lending P.R. cover to Chevron to the point that it named an oil tanker after her. Today, Stanford University students are trying to get her ousted as a professor because of her role in illegal torture. -- World Wide Work
"Un dur documentaire sur Condoleezza Rice, une femme extraordinaire, mais peu comprise, qui est passée de la ségrégation en Alabama à devenir la femme la plus puissante du monde. Incisif et choquant, c’est le premier film rétrospectif sur l’administration Bush. Il renverse la fausse idée populaire que Rice est une femme qui approuve tout du président Bush et révèle qu’elle est plutôt sa confidente la plus durable, et donc en grande partie responsable de l’héritage Bush." -- Black Au Quebec http://blackauquebec.com/?p=436