Director: Sebastian Doggart Producer: Diana DeCillio, Evan Friedman, Liz Lovern, Matthew Woolf, Sebastian Doggart Country: USA Runtime: 1:29
Synopsis
American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi is a hard-hitting documentary about Condoleezza Rice, an extraordinary but little-understood woman who rose from segregated Alabama to become the most powerful woman in the world. Incisive and shocking, this is the first retrospective film on the Bush Administration. It overturns the popular misconception of Rice as a yes-woman to President Bush to reveal her as his most enduring confidante – and thus responsible for much of the Bush legacy.
This political, biographical documentary tells a Faustian story of a woman whose hubris tempted her into a pursuit of power that destroyed her core values, and hurtled America into a perilous new direction.
Dr Rice leads her own defense, through a series of candid interviews. We have exclusive interviews with her three most authoritative biographers: Marcus Mabry (Twice As Good); Glenn Kessler (The Confidante); and Antonia Felix (Condi). Supporters who defend her record include both Presidents Bush, Gary Hart, Oprah Winfrey, Brent Scowcroft and Henry Kissinger. Critics include Lawrence Wilkerson (Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff), George Tenet (CIA Director), Alan Gilbert (her former history teacher), Richard Clarke (Counter-terrorism chief), Richard Ben-Veniste (9/11 Commissioner), Spike Lee, Eleanor Clift (Newsweek Editor) and Sean Penn.
The film’s most disturbing revelations center on Rice’s role as Chair of the group of ‘Principals’, whose role was to select and authorize torture techniques, which 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!’”
Director
Sebastian Doggart
Sebastian Doggart was educated at King’s College, Cambridge University, where he obtained the top first-class degree in social and political sciences. He began his career as a journalist in Latin America, then he moved to London. After training as drama director at Central School of Speech and Drama, he directed theatres for eminent British companies. Subsequently, he moved into TV production, where he produced and directed for different TV channels. His interview profiles included Kenneth Branagh and Nobel prize-winning Octavio Paz. In 2000, he moved to the USA where he produced/directed major TV series including Project Runaway for Bravo, 15 Films About Madonna for A&E, two series of Damage Control for Mtv, Thirty Days for FX, ten episodes of American Candidate for Showtime, and two short fictional films. He has also written one screenplay, Casanova's Return and three books. He is a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Sebastian's previous film Courting Condi was also selected as a nominee for Best Documentary at MIFF Awards 2010.
