Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival Slates World Premiere of Eminent Domain Documentary "Begging for Billionaires" as "Best of Fest" Selection
Long-awaited public screening of "Begging for Billionaires: The Attack on Property Rights in America" slated for 3 p.m., Saturday, May 2, at the Oak Street Cinema, 309 Oak St. SE in Minneapolis, Minn.
Minneapolis, MN, April 16, 2009 --(PR.com)-- More than nine years in the making, the independent film Begging For Billionaires: The Attack on Property Rights in America has been selected as a “Best of Fest” feature by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. The screening is slated for Saturday, May 2, at the Oak Street Cinema in Minneapolis and will double as the film’s world premiere. A trailer and ticket information are available at www.beggingforbillionaires.com
The premiere will include post-show commentaries from national property rights advocates, eminent domain attorneys, grass roots activists and journalists. Director Philip Klein and Editor Daniel Polsfuss will also be on hand, along with those whose stories are told in the film. Lee McGrath, the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice’s Minnesota Chapter, will also be on hand.
A post-screening celebration will follow, time and location yet to be announced.
Premiere events are sponsored by Grand Central Publishing, publishers of "Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage" by award winning author Jeff Benedict. The book chronicles Suzette Kelo's fight to keep her home from being taken for a private development, a battle that ends with the dreaded loss property prescribed Supreme Court ruling that bears her name. Other key sponsors include the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the American Property Coalition.
About Begging for Billionaires
Through a mix of guerrilla journalism, expert interviews, and the first-hand accounts of; Begging For Billionaires reveals the fallout of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v New London ruling in 2005, which gave state governments the legal authority to take private homes and businesses by eminent domain, and then transfer ownership to private developers and corporations for unnecessary private projects including, corporate office towers, professional sports arenas and luxury condominiums. According to the court, the community “economic development” benefits of such private projects qualify them as public use under the 5th Amendment’s takings clause. The Court’s ruling immediately sparked public outrage and was broadly criticized as a gross misinterpretation of the constitution for allowing governments to take private property from citizens and give it to private developers for any purpose whatsoever, as long as the new project can in theory generate increased tax revenue.
Through personal accounts of eminent domain cases in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., the film reveals how city governments brazenly take property from everyday citizens, only to transfer ownership to powerful interests for the pettiest of non-essential “economic development” projects. Meanwhile, the less fortunate watch helplessly as their family histories and livelihoods are bulldozed to smithereens. One homeowner scrambles to salvage his life’s possessions as demolition crews pulverize the walls around him. In another case, the 47-year resident of a modest but beautiful home bursts with emotion explains how her quiet neighborhood will soon be wiped from existence, despite its rich African American history, well-maintained middle class homes, and carefully manicured lawns and gardens.
Begging for Billionaires begs the question: are we losing sight of the balance between individual property rights and community economic development?
###
The premiere will include post-show commentaries from national property rights advocates, eminent domain attorneys, grass roots activists and journalists. Director Philip Klein and Editor Daniel Polsfuss will also be on hand, along with those whose stories are told in the film. Lee McGrath, the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice’s Minnesota Chapter, will also be on hand.
A post-screening celebration will follow, time and location yet to be announced.
Premiere events are sponsored by Grand Central Publishing, publishers of "Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage" by award winning author Jeff Benedict. The book chronicles Suzette Kelo's fight to keep her home from being taken for a private development, a battle that ends with the dreaded loss property prescribed Supreme Court ruling that bears her name. Other key sponsors include the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the American Property Coalition.
About Begging for Billionaires
Through a mix of guerrilla journalism, expert interviews, and the first-hand accounts of; Begging For Billionaires reveals the fallout of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v New London ruling in 2005, which gave state governments the legal authority to take private homes and businesses by eminent domain, and then transfer ownership to private developers and corporations for unnecessary private projects including, corporate office towers, professional sports arenas and luxury condominiums. According to the court, the community “economic development” benefits of such private projects qualify them as public use under the 5th Amendment’s takings clause. The Court’s ruling immediately sparked public outrage and was broadly criticized as a gross misinterpretation of the constitution for allowing governments to take private property from citizens and give it to private developers for any purpose whatsoever, as long as the new project can in theory generate increased tax revenue.
Through personal accounts of eminent domain cases in St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., the film reveals how city governments brazenly take property from everyday citizens, only to transfer ownership to powerful interests for the pettiest of non-essential “economic development” projects. Meanwhile, the less fortunate watch helplessly as their family histories and livelihoods are bulldozed to smithereens. One homeowner scrambles to salvage his life’s possessions as demolition crews pulverize the walls around him. In another case, the 47-year resident of a modest but beautiful home bursts with emotion explains how her quiet neighborhood will soon be wiped from existence, despite its rich African American history, well-maintained middle class homes, and carefully manicured lawns and gardens.
Begging for Billionaires begs the question: are we losing sight of the balance between individual property rights and community economic development?
###
Contact
Begging for Billionaires
Todd Messelt
612.605.7266
medialinecom.com
Todd Messelt
612.605.7266
medialinecom.com
Contact
Categories