Versailles 3 Ballroom, Paris Resort, Las Vegas, July 17-20
Tickets and information

WEDNESDAY JULY 17

1:00 BIG LIES: THE FORGOTTEN RUSSIAN HOLOCAUST (39 min) Igor Rudov, dir. The “Big Lies” concept was coined by Adolf Hitler as a propaganda weapon in his famous “Mein Kampf” but was first used by Joseph Stalin to cover up massive man-made hunger in the Soviet Union in the early 30s. The main character of BIG LIES is an American writer who travels to Russia these days. She meets the last survivors of Holodomor [the famine/genocide of Ukraine]. Soon she understands that the war of Russian peasantry, started by Bolsheviks 100 years ago, isn’t over yet. She also uncovers many controversial facts about the role played by American media and business in the early ’30s in Soviet Russia. Even more staggering – she starts to understand the connection between those events and current domination of fake news and total mistrust on today’s post-truth world.

1:45 pm PANEL: “The Hard Truth about Socialism, Communism, and the Media”
Robert Anthony Peters, Igor Runov, Zilvinas Silenas (FEE), *Rodolfo Milani, Adam Kokesh, Gary Alexander, mod.

2:30 pm IN MONEY WE TRUST? (57 min) Paul Sanderson, dir. based on the book “Money” by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames. From the beginnings of currency to Bitcoin, IN MONEY WE TRUST?gives an insightful and illuminating answer to the question “What is Money?” Based on the book “Money” by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames, the film features 25 notable world financial experts, economists and authors including former Federal Reserve Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, Harvard’s Larry Summers, famed economist Arthur Laffer, FreedomFest producer Mark Skousen and Jack Weatherford, author of “The History of Money.”

3:30 PANEL: “How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy—and What We Can Do about It”
Paul Sanderson, Elizabeth Ames, Barbara Kolm, Ed Moy, Sean Flynn, Hilary Kramer

8:00 pm MIRACLE IN EAST TEXAS (97 min) Kevin Sorbo, dir. With John Ratzenberger and Lou Gossett Jr. Inspired by a true story, Kevin Sorbo (‘Doc’ Boyd) and John Ratzenberger (‘Dad’ Everett) play Bible-quoting con men in the 1930s. After being run out of Oklahoma, they set up their ‘oil rig’ scam in Texas, seducing wealthy widows and the members of the only black church in the county. But just as their plan comes to fruition, everything suddenly goes awry, and they are faced with the most important decision of their lives. Funny, engaging and uplifting, this is the incredible story of two men discovering the good that is buried within themselves.

*Kevin Sorbo will be one of the panelists in our Master Class Thursday evening at the Filmmakers Reception. Tickets to the reception are available for sale to FreedomFest attendees.

THURSDAY JULY 18

8:30 am TANK MAN (15 min) Robert Anthony Peters, dir. TANK MAN is the story of the iconic gentleman who stood in front of and stopped a line of tanks after the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989. All that is known of this man are the images that were recorded of his acts. This film is a speculation of what he went through the day he took his courageous steps 30 years ago.

9:00 -11:00 am “Making Movies in a Totalitarian State: The Filmmaking FreedomFighters of Iran”
Introduced by JoAnn Skousen

           

9:00 BAILAORA (15 min) Rubin Stein, dir. “A war. A child. A dream.” Through exquisite lighting, music, dance, and cinematography, BAILAORA tells a haunting and suspenseful story of war and escape.

9:15 RAHEEL (30 min) Ayat Asadi Rahbar, dir. Raheel, an Afghan woman, has illegally traveled to Iran to look for her husband. Meanwhile, a taxi driver is just trying to get home to his family. Their lives intertwine as Raheel encounters several problems that leave her little hope to move forward.

9:45 THE STAIN (12 min) Soresh Vakili, dir. In this subtly portrayed metaphor about the aftermath of war, an old man repeatedly cleans the stain from a cinema screen — a stain that mysteriously reappears after each screening.

10:00 PANEL: “Lights, Music, Atmosphere: Exploring the Filmmaker’s Toolbox” Marc Eliot, Jo Ann Skousen, Scott McRae, Cynthia Blanchard, Shoresh Vakili

10:35 (coffee break) Tangle (8 min) Malihe Ghloamzadeh, dir. Can an emigrant ever truly leave her world behind? The collateral damage of war and its unintended impact on individuals are seen in this moving, magical film.

11:00 am Keynote Speaker Kevin O’Leary — no screening

12:00- 2:00 COMEDY SHORTS! Grab a sandwich from the lunch kiosk and join us for a satirical good time 

         

12:10  DEMAND CURVE (11 min) Austin and Meredith Bragg, dirs. Offended by his kidnappers’ low ransom demands, a university professor uses basic economics to increase his ransom and get in on the action. Game theory and experimental economics at their comedic best!

12:23 THE SURGE (11 min) Jared Sichel and Gabriel Yaffe, dirs. In an effort to prove to Americans how much they need the government, Congress has announced that for 12 hours, all laws and regulations will be suspended, and all crimes will go unpunished. CNNBC reporter Lyle Callahan braves the streets of Los Angeles hoping to capture gruesome footage of Americans tearing each other apart during the government’s 12-hour purge. But Lyle is sorely disappointed to discover that when there are no regulations, lemonade stands pop up, prescription drug prices plummet, and homeowners can safely add a sunroom without spending thousands of dollars in permits and inspections. Never mind reality, though; Lyle is determined to let CNNBC’s viewers know just how horrible everything really is.

12:35 PANEL: “Funny Business: The Power of Satire to Promote Liberty” Jared Sichel, Gabriel Yaffe, Katie Christofferson, Austin and Meredith Bragg, C. Michael Pickens, SABO,

1:10 pm THE LAST STRAW (4 min) Katie Christofferson, dir.  A few years into a dystopian future, dating is conducted solely through a government sanctioned app called Partner Pairing. The woman has complete control over the man and can give him a strike on the app any time he says something that offends her. Once he accrues three strikes he must report to a purification center to cleanse him of his offensive behavior and language.

12:15 Love Gov2 (37 min) John Papola, dir. Shunned by a failed relationship of his own doing, Gov embarks on a new, more ambitious mission to “help” a group of early careerists seeking to establish themselves. This time, Gov works hilariously to create and manipulate a crisis to entrap and control his houseguests and ensure their dependency. Will Gov’s intrusive scheming last and doom them to uncertain and desperate lives? Can an entire community see through Gov’s folly and set a new course for success? Q&A, John Papola, David Theroux

2:10 pm MADE IN MEHKE (31 min) Valerie Hinkle-Marshall, dir. Magatte Wade was born in Senegal but spent much of her childhood in France. Growing up, she saw the extreme differences in wealth between Africa and Europe. This disparity sparked a question… Why are some countries rich, and others poor? As she discovered the answer, Magatte was inspired to become an entrepreneur and bring business and investment back to her home.

Post-screening Discussion: “Changing Africa through Entrepreneurship” Magatte Wade, Sean Malone, Valerie Hinkle-Marshall, Rina Shah

3:10 pm THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES: DEFEATING THE IDEOLOGICAL WAR AGAINST THE WEST (66 min) Gloria Z. Greenfield, dir. “Civilizations, empires, great powers can fall apart very fast. Collapse can come suddenly, like a thief in the night. And we should be very wary of assuming that our civilization, the civilization of the early 21st century West, will oblige us by declining gradually.” (historian Niall Ferguson). Featuring compelling observations and insights from esteemed thought leaders,The Fight of Our Lives addresses the various internal and external threats facing Western Civilization today, and cautions that if we don’t recognize these grave dangers now and rouse ourselves to resist and overcome them, then it is no hyperbole to say that the West as we know it may come to—as Ferguson warned—a swift and inexorable end.

 4:30 pm PANEL: “Invasive Mindsets: Ideas that Shape the World” Grover Norquist, Ilya Shapiro, Gloria Z. Greenfield, George Gilder, Nick Gillespie, mod.

6:30 pm Filmmakers Reception and Master Class (tickets required). Drinks, hors d’ouevres, comedian C. Michael Pickens, and our celebrity Master Class: “Pitch Perfect: How to Make your Pitch without Losing your Voice”
Marc Eliot, Kevin and Sam Sorbo, Mark Joseph, Michael Ozias, Harmon Kaslow, JoAnn Skousen mod.

8:00 pm AKASHA (78 min) Hajooj Kuka, dir.Adnan is a Sudanese revolutionary who is considered a war hero. His love for his AK47 rifle is equalled only by his feelings for Lina, his long-suffering sweetheart. When Adnan is late to return to his military unit after his leave, army commander Blues launches a kasha: the rounding up and arresting of truant soldiers. Adnan is caught-off guard and makes a run for it with pacifist Absi. The two unlikely friends plot ways to reunite Adnan with his gun – and with Lina – while avoiding their fellow soldiers. Through a series of wry and humorous incidents over 24 hours, we explore life and ideology in rebel-held areas of Sudan.

FRIDAY JULY  19

8:30 am THE RIGHT TO BEAR 3D PRINTERS (16 min) Logan Albright, dir. Is 3D printing a threat to public safety, or an advancement in technology that could change the world? What are 3D printed guns and how dangerous are they, really? Matt Larosiere is a 3D printer expert and gun enthusiast who breaks it all down in this short documentary from Free the People in cooperation with Fight the Power Productions.

8:45 am PANEL “Technology, Free Speech, and 3D Printers” Logan Albright, Matt Larosiere, Matt Kibbe, Ed Hudgins

9:30 am REGULATION (12 min) Ryan Patch, dir. In the near future, Mia (Sunita Mani), a young social worker, travels to a small community to administer behavior-modifying “patches” that guarantee happiness. She must decide what to do when Kaleigh (Audrey Bennett), a precocious 10-year old girl, refuses to accept the patch.

9:45 am PANEL: “Just Imagine: Raising Free Range Children in a Chicken Coop World” Ryan Patch, Lenore Skenazy, Lisa Sparks, Sam Sorbo, Jo Ann Skousen

 

10:35 am (coffee break) THE LAST STRAW (4 min) Katie Christofferson, dir. A few years into a dystopian future, dating is conducted solely through a government sanctioned app called Partner Pairing. The woman has complete control over the man and can give him a strike on the app any time he says something that offends her. Once he accrues three strikes he must report to a purification center to cleanse him of his offensive behavior and language.

11:00 am INVALIDATED (50 min) Luke Livingston, dir. When a father of eight invents a genius way to fill 100 water balloons in 60 seconds, his invention “Bunch O Balloons” becomes an overnight success on Kickstarter and an international viral hit. Scrambling to get his idea to market and bring financial security to his family, he applies for a US Patent, but his plans of success are blindsided when his genius idea is stolen by a big company before he can make his first dime. Thrust into a battle to save his invention, he uncovers the shocking truth that our patent system is weakening, property rights are at risk and American Innovation is dying. Learn how big tech companies, China, opportunistic lawyers, and our own Patent office are robbing American inventors of their ideas, their labor and their financial investments.

12:00 pm PANEL: “Out of Our Minds: Do Patents Foster Innovation or Kill It?” Luke Livingston, Jenny Beth Martin, *Rina Shah, *Nick Gillespie

1:00- 2:00 ANIMATED SHORTS! Grab a sandwich from the lunch kiosk and join us for an animated good time 

         

1:00 pm THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION (13 min) Jake Klein, prod. Based on the Regnery Publishing book series of the same name, The Politically Incorrect Guide series stars famed libertarian authors and podcasters Tom Woods and Michael Malice in an animated (and animated) discussion about the Constitution. The series tears down the politically correct narratives infecting society and tells the politically incorrect truth, uncovering who is responsible for the lies. Beautifully animated in the style a political cartoon, the first episode, “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution” deconstructs the ideas of a living constitution, the general welfare clause, and a national popular vote.

1:15 pm MY NAME IS VICTIMHOOD (4 min) Jennifer Grossman, prod. Meet Victimhood, one of Karl Marx’s greatest tools to exploit people by convincing them they are oppressed. Victimhood really wants power, and she’s found a surefire way to get it: “Turn grief into grievance and find someone to resent, to blame, and to pay!” Will you be a Victim or a Victor?

1:20 Tangle (8 min) Malihe Ghloamzadeh, dir. Can an emigrant ever truly leave her world behind? The collateral damage of war and its unintended impact on individuals are seen in this moving, magical film.

1:30 PANEL: “The Animator’s Art: Beyond Cartoons” Jennifer Grossman, Jake Klein, Sean Malone, Patrick Reasonover, Michael Ozias

2:10 pm ARCHITECTS OF WOKE: JUDITH BUTLER’S WAR ON SCIENCE (6 min) Rob Montz, dir. ARCHITECTS OF WOKE exposes the outsized influence of Judith Butler, the University of California at Berkeley feminist gender theorist famous for making the argument that gender is a performance rather than biological reality, leading to the notion that gender is an endlessly divisible spectrum that can have far more than two types, male and female, which is contradicted by substantial evidence. Butler’s theories, spread through dense, opaque jargon, gave birth to the notion that gender is subjective and non-binary, which some lesbian activists assert has corrupted feminism and harmed women. Butler is a powerful force in academe; she serves on the executive council of the Modern Language Association, which sets writing standards for high school and undergraduate students. Introduction: Capital Research Center

PANEL: “The Rise of Radical Feminism and Genderism in Academia” Rob Montz, Daniele Struppa, Glorida Z. Greenfield, Avens O’Brien

3:10 pm AMERICAN CONSEQUENCES 2020 (25 min) Fred Gundry, dir. What seems radical today could become mainstream tomorrow. For the first time in American history, a divided populace could put a socialist President in the White House in the 2020 election. AMERICAN CONSEQUENCES 2020 examines the recent rise in popularity of socialism in the United States, featuring original interviews with former congressman Dr. Ron Paul and humorist P.J. O’Rourke. Join politicians, policy experts, and market authorities as we look at why so many young Americans are drawn to the short-term promises of socialism, and what prior generations stand to lose if the nation heads down this perilous path.

3:35 PANEL: “Are Millennial Voters a Menace to Freedom or its Salvation? ” Fred Gundry, Robin Koerner, Grover Norquist, Wolf von Laer, Avens O’Brien

8:00 pm. LOVE IMMORTAL (95 min) Robert Joseph Butler, dir. Libertarians and vampires! Using blood as a metaphor for money and the U.S. Treasury as a metaphor for bloodsuckers, LOVE IMMORTAL follows three generations of vampire women who find their lives put into jeopardy by their environmental and economic surroundings.

 

SATURDAY JULY 20

8:30 am ONE LAPTOP IS A PASSPORT TO THE WORLD (4 min) Melissa Mann, prod. At Juana Manso Elementary in the impoverished Dock Sud neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, it’s a thrill to watch students use computers to explore new corners of the world—but easy access to technology wasn’t always an option, largely due to a 35 percent import tariff that put computers out of reach for most schools. Thanks to the efforts of Libertad y Progreso, one of Atlas Network’s local partners, computers are helping Juana Manso’s students explore the world—and change their futures for the better. Atlas Network’s partners around the world are creating home-grown solutions to help people lift themselves out of poverty and improve economic rights for all.

PANEL: “Trade Wars and Tariffs: Protecting American Jobs or Destroying the Global Economy?” Kevin Williamson, Veronique deRugy, Sean Malone, Gary Alexander, mod.

9:30 am THE CREEPY LINE (81 min) M. A. Taylor, dir. An eye-opening documentary, THE CREEPY LINE reveals the stunning degree to which society is manipulated by Google and Facebook and blows the lid off the remarkably subtle – hence powerful – manner in which they do it. The title is culled from the words of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, when during a 2010 interview he explained Google’s code of conduct: “The Google policy on a lot of things is to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it.” However, as Dr. Robert Epstein explains in the film, “Google crosses the creepy line everyday.” Containing ground-breaking interviews with Jordan B. Peterson, Peter Schweizer, and others, THE CREEPY LINE offers an explosive look at the meddling and intervening done by Google and Facebook on their supposedly “neutral platforms.” But is government intervention the answer, or should we let the market do its work?

11:00 am PANEL: “Google, Search Engines and the Internet: Is Big Tech Bad?”
Terry Easton, Jeff Kalibjian, Daryl Kane, Sean Malone, Craig Huey, George Gilder, *Dave Sussman

 

12:00 pm NO SAFE SPACES (90 min) Justin Folk, dir. Adam Carolla, host of the hugely popular podcast the Adam Carolla Show, and radio talk show host Dennis Prager have teamed up to create a feature-length film that takes them to college campuses across the country, interviewing students and professors, comedians and commentators on the left and right, and those who have been impacted by the silencing of different voices on campus, analyzing the value of so-called safe-spaces. Viewers will also be taken back into time to Prager and Carolla’s youth with dramatic and comedic recreations of life-shaping moments in their lives including Prager’s visit to the totalitarian Soviet state and Carolla’s experience growing up in a single parent household. Despite having very different backgrounds, Prager and Carolla share a deep concern with the direction of our country and believe what’s happening on college campuses today is the bleeding edge of our cultural decline.

1:30 pm  PANEL: “The Battle over Free Speech Expands Beyond Campus”
Mark Joseph, Justin Folk, Jake Klein, Robby Soave, Don Boudreaux, *Doug Casey, Rob Montz

2:10 pm BIG LIES: THE FORGOTTEN RUSSIAN HOLOCAUST (39 min) Igor Rudov, dir. The “Big Lies” concept was coined by Adolf Hitler as a propaganda weapon in his famous “Mein Kampf” but was first used by Joseph Stalin to cover up massive man-made hunger in the Soviet Union in the early 30s. The main character of BIG LIES is an American writer who travels to Russia these days. She meets the last survivors of Holodomor. Soon she understands that the war of Russian peasantry, started by Bolsheviks 100 years ago, isn’t over yet. She also uncovers many controversial facts about the role played by American media and business in the early ’30s in Soviet Russia. Even more staggering – she starts to understand the connection between those events and current domination of fake news and total mistrust on today’s post-truth world.

3:10 STATE OF WAR (13 min) Matt Battaglia, dir. People are dying every day in Yemen. We’ve been at war in Afghanistan for 18 years. U.S. Middle East policy has become so unbalanced in recent years, with most politicians believing if there’s a problem, we have to do something about it and it has to be a military solution. Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul are trying to change all that. STATE OF WAR is a documentary film by Free the People in cooperation with Fight the Power Productions.

Q&A with Thomas Massie, Bob Barr, Matt Kibbe, Terry Kibbe

 

4:10 pm AMERICAN CRAFT: WHAT BEER CAN TEACH US ABOUT WELL-CRAFTED LAWS (9 min) Matt Woods, dir. There’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker, with thousands of breweries across the country offering a virtually endless variety of craft beer. But it wasn’t always this way. After Prohibition ended, lawmakers didn’t legalize home brewing—whether by design or by accident is unclear. While this didn’t dissuade underground home brewers, it did prevent the commercialization and spread of craft beer. By the 1970s, fed up with the lack of variety in beer, consumers began to demand more freedom… and President Jimmy Carter delivered. (Yes, Jimmy Carter.) This documentary short explores the story behind the craft beer renaissance and the importance of well-crafted legislation. Six experts and beer drinkers discuss the story of AMERICAN CRAFT: Trevor Burrus (Cato Institute), Garrett Peck (historian and author), Daniel Vilarrubi (Atlas Brew Works), Justin Cox (Atlas Brew Works), Candace Moon (Dinsmore & Shohl), and Anastasia Boden (Pacific Legal Foundation).
Discussion: Matt Woods, *Bob Lawson, Matt Kibbe, Jim Caruso, Anastasia Boden