Nov 222011
 

‘You’ve Been Trumped’ scoops Best Documentary award at one of America’s biggest film festivals ~ Jury calls film ‘deeply troubling’ ~ Salmond stays silent.  With thanks to Tripping Up Trump.

Feature documentary ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ has won its fifth major award – clinching the Best Documentary Prize at the 34th Starz Denver Film Festival, Denver, Colorado, USA.

In winning the award, ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ topped an impressive list of 59 of the year’s very best documentaries from around the world.

Other winners at the prestigious ceremony at the city’s Ellie Caulkins Opera House included actress Judy Greer, Scottish actor Alan Cumming OBE, and Hollywood star James Cromwell – who personally congratulated Montrose based director Anthony Baxter on ‘You’ve Been Trumped’s achievement.

The jury statement read,

“We decided upon a film that tells a story about a greedy capitalist and a community trying to save its home.   We admired the filmmaker’s perseverance and his reluctance to insert himself into the David and Goliath story.

Deeply troubling, amusing, and rousing all at the same time, the winner of the 2011 Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film is You’ve Been Trumped.”

Mr Baxter told the audience of several thousand filmgoers and Denver dignitaries,

“The Trump Organisation has called our film ‘a failure’ and me ‘a fraud’ whilst the local residents have been branded ‘a national embarrassment for Scotland.’   I’m proud to accept this award on their behalf.”

You’ve Been Trumped’ has now won a total of five major film festival awards – including a Special Jury Prize at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival, the Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Social Justice Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival in New York, and the Green Award at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival.

The filmmakers are currently seeking distribution for ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ in the United States, and a major viral campaign supported by Karine Polwart is underway.  The Scottish singer-songwriter has donated her new song, inspired by the film and called Cover Your Eyes, to ‘You’ve Been Trumped’s crowd-funding campaign.

‘You’ve Been Trumped’ will be returning to cinemas in Scotland this weekend, when it plays at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Scotland’s First Minister has been invited to the screenings through an open letter from the film’s director.    Alex Salmond’s private office, has yet to respond to the request.

For further information on ‘You’ve Been Trumped’ visit www.youvebeentrumped.com or on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Youve-Been-Trumped/187472834621346

‘You’ve Been Trumped’ has now won the following awards:

Victor Rabinowitz Social Justice Award – Hampton’s International Film Festival
Special Jury Prize – Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival
Best Documentary (Maysles Brothers Award) – Starz Denver Film Festival
Best Film – Edindocs Film Festival, Edinburgh
Green Award – Doc/Fest (UK)

Nov 042011
 

 With thanks to Tripping Up Trump.

Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney continue their triumphant world-wide tour of multi award-winning documentary, ‘you’ve been trumped’.
Well received and recognised with awards from around the world, there are those who are not very happy.

The Trump Organisation has responded ferociously to the news that You’ve Been Trumped has won yet another award, this time in Donald Trump’s backyard at the star-studded Hamptons International Film Festival.

“Anthony Baxter’s film is a complete fraud,”

George Sorial, Director of International Development at the Trump Organisation, said in a statement to MSNBC.

“The film only presents the myopic views of a very small fringe element that are not respected and are widely regarded as a national embarrassment for Scotland.”

A full version of Anthony Baxter’s interview, and the Trump Organisation’s response, can be viewed here on the MSNBC website.  An interview on NY1 New York can also be viewed here.

Tonight in New York, Baxter will be presented with the Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice Award by the Hamptons International Film Festival Programming Manager Cameron Yates. The award, named after one of America’s most famous civil rights
lawyers, is given to “a film that most exhibits the values of peace, equality and global justice.”

Baxter will appear on a special panel about Documentary Filmmakers Taking on Power at the Paley Centre in New York on Thursday night.  Full details can be viewed here.

You’ve Been Trumped has been praised by Michael Moore, who handpicked the film for his festival in Michigan (where it won the Special Jury
Award).  And in the UK, You’ve Been Trumped won the top environmental award for documentary films, for exposing, in the words of the international jury:

“one of the most shocking environmental crimes in UK history.”  

Turned down by the government-backed Edinburgh International Film Festival, the documentary later won Best Picture honours at the EdinDocs Festival.

You’ve Been Trumped has just completed another successful week long run at the Aberdeen Belmont Picturehouse and will resume for a further week’s run at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) from Friday 21 October 2011.  The film will also be playing in cinemas in England as well as festivals in Bermuda, Taiwan and Australia over the coming weeks.

A full list of forthcoming screenings can be seen here.