Award-winning director Michael Radford has agreed to film an exclusive introduction and post-screening discussion for the theatrical re-release of “1984,” to play before and after screenings in all participating theaters. Since the re-release event was first announced last month, the number of theaters participating in the coordinated National Event Day screening on April 4th of the timeless classic “1984” has more than doubled to 180 cinemas across the US, Canada, and Europe and continues to grow.
The interview will be produced by Santa Fe-based Atalaya Productions and Austin-based Violet Crown Films. Radford will recall stories about the making of the movie while discussing the ways in which Orwell’s prescient dystopian tale has retained its haunting and powerful currency across continents and generations.
Starring the late John Hurt and Richard Burton (in his last on-screen appearance), Michael Radford’s film about Orwell’s 1984 has never been more vital. It uniquely resonates today with the recent rebirth of authoritarian political systems across the globe. As foretold in “1984,” we find ourselves in a time where extremist political parties and unscrupulous national leaders have risen to power through the use of fear, intolerance, and contempt for truth. As Orwell portended and Radford superbly captured in film, “a lie becomes truth and then becomes a lie again.” This screening event provides a chance for communities around the country to show their unity and have their voices heard.
Dylan Skolnick of the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY, and Adam Birnbaum of Nova Theatre Circuit, based in Stamford, CT, have spearheaded the National Event Day Screening. For more information on the screening locations of ”1984,” please visit www.unitedstateofcinema.org
