Famous Director/Producer Showing Documentary in Town

The Friends of the Hollywood Theater will hold a special showing of an inspirational documentary today, Monday, April 30, at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont.

“The People Speak,” a 2009 documentary that celebrates possibilities for social change in the United States through our country’s own history, is showing at 7 p.m., and special guests will be on hand to present it.

The film’s co-director and executive producer, Chris Moore, will conduct a question and answer session with the audience following the movie. Moore’s filmography includes Good Will Hunting (1997), The Adjustment Bureau (2011) and the American Pie series (1999-2012).

Lisa Smith-Reed, a co-executive producer of the film, is a resident.

The documentary is based on American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn’s books A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States. But it’s not your typical high school history class.

The film features the letters, songs, poems, speeches, and more of the rebels, dissenters, and visionaries—past and present—who helped shape American history. The words of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Bob Dylan, Langston Hughes, Chief Joseph, Muhammad Ali, and unknown veterans, union workers, abolitionists, and many others are examined.

Their words are brought to life again in the documentary by modern musicians and actors, including Matt Damon, Marisa Tomei, Danny Glover, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, Kerry Washington, David Strathairn, and more.

More information about the film can be found at www.thepeoplespeak.com or by following @speakoutpeople on Twitter.

If you’re going:

• What: Documentary The People Speak
• When: Today, April 30, at 7 p.m.
• Where: Hollywood Theater, 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont
• Cost: Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and children. For details, contact the Hollywood Theater at www.thehollywooddormont.org or 412-563-0368

This article first appeared on Dormont-Brookline Patch.