An extraordinary meditation on the nature of democratic progress in the United States, John Gianvito’s one-of-a-kind documentary journeys from the gravesites to the public markers that document the people and incidents that make up over 400 years of struggle against economic oppression. Mesmerisingly shot and edited with a dramatically mounting pace, ‘Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind’ is both a fascinating history lesson and a jolting rumination on how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.
John Gianvito (USA) is a film maker, teacher and curator living in Boston, Massachusetts. His films include The Flower of Pain (1983), Address Unknown (1985) and The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein (2001). He is the editor of the book Andrei Tarkovsky: Interviews (2006). His latest film Vapor Trail (Clark) had it’s world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2010 in the section After Victory. —International Film Festival Rotterdam
We will make this available on Mubi later this year or early next. The current version that is out there is SD. But John shot it on film and we are busy creating a new 2K master from his 16mm original. I think the new version will look stunning and I hope make a great film a tad better.
Ultimately, this "whispering wind", this spirit that moved the working class movements throughout all american history, is still alive on many levels.
Along with Benning's RR, the most pleasent descovery of the recent year. In my honest opinion this is the mere esence of filmmaking: Provide an atmosphere in where you can construct a whole universe. A gem.
“The day will come when our silence will be more important than the voices you are throttling today.”
A simple concept and restrained execution makes this a brilliant film. It’s a documentary… read review
