Last Saturday night I attended one of the most invigorating talks combining my two passions – politics and film – with Hollywood film legend Oliver Stone, the man behind some of the most seminal American films like JFK, Platoon, Born On The 4th of July, Salvador and On Any Given Sunday! Stone is a complete package – a great, firebrand filmmaker, a man of the world, a former Vietnam war veteran who’s turned anti-war and a fierce critic of American imperialism and exceptional ism seeped in bloodshed and killing of innocents around the world! He screened his documentary The Untold History of the United States which is an indictment of America as probably the world’s biggest terrorist! I salute this man who is doing his part in trying to educate the world about lies and propaganda that hide the real truth about the American war machine that is infecting the world! As he said, he likes to look in “the shadows cause that is where the light is.” Also I’m excited about his next film which will be on the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is a world hero for his great sacrifice in revealing the truth! Stone’s visit was part o f the Vancouver Biennale arts celebration with the mandate to bring great luminaries that advance their fields further and advocate learning, community engagement and social action.
Photos and Words by R. Paul Dhillon
