Two conservative directors are gunning for recognition online today, and they need your help.
Filmmakers Mark Judge and Paul Moon, with their documentary film project “The Story of Whittaker Chambers,” are currently competing for “Project of the Week” recognition at indiewire.com. Each day indiewire picks a “Project of the Day” to feature, and every week readers vote for one project to consult with an independent film website like SnagFilms or IndieGoGo.
These “Project of the Week” winners compete for the “Project of the Month” prize: a consultation with the Sundance Institute, which runs the Sundance Film Festival. IndieWIRE featured “The Story of Whittaker Chambers” on Tuesday.
“Chambers’s story is one that hits on every cylinder,” wrote Judge, an author, journalist and filmmaker. “There is espionage, war, the soul of man, communism, courtroom drama, narrow escapes and God. The story is incredibly exciting, and we want to provide a great ride.”
Communist-turned-conservative Chambers is known for exposing government official Alger Hiss as a Soviet spy. Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 and sentenced to five years in prison. Chambers is remembered for his anti-communism, but also for his classic tome, “Witness,” which has influenced conservatism for decades, and continues to do so.
“I reread ‘Witness’ in 2010 and realized it was as relevant today as when it was published,” Judge wrote in an email. “For one, the creeping socialism that Chambers warned us about is upon us. …And it is, without doubt, the coolest and most exciting American story to have not been put on film.”
Unfortunately, Chambers is being forgotten, Judge noted. “America’s public schools and academia are certainly not interested in remembering the man who revealed Soviet espionage in the United States government.”
Judge and Moon are seeking to remedy that. Both had been working independently on Chambers projects. Upon learning of each other, they joined forces.
“We want to get conservatives behind this,” Judge said. “A couple times I was shocked when I mentioned the project and got a blank stare from a conservative. I guess some conservatives went to public school. But then I tell them that the book ‘Witness’ was absolutely pivotal in Ronald Reagan becoming a conservative – and David Mamet as well. In fact, it may not have happened without ‘Witness.’ Then they pay attention.”
He added, “Liberals are still, at long last, trashing Whittaker Chambers today. Still. That says something.”
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