Ohio Liberty Film Festival
WHERE: Neon Movies, 130 E. Fifth St., and Dayton Engineers Club, 110 E. Monument Ave.
WHEN: Nov. 11-13
ADMISSION: Free
MORE INFO: For a complete schedule with times, visit www. ohiolibertyfilmfestival.com or call (937) 429-3703 or (937) 673-4362.
DAYTON — The Ohio Liberty Film Festival will present the first public screening of a locally produced documentary about how rock ’n’ roll helped dissolve the Soviet Union and bring down the Berlin Wall.
“Rockin’ the Wall” will headline the second annual showcase of films that emphasize freedom as the condition that allows artistic, scientific and intellectual creation to flourish.
Admission is free for all films, playing from Nov. 11-13, thanks to sponsorships and donations. Screening locations will be the Dayton Engineers Club and the Neon Movies.
Jay Tieber, a festival sponsor and co-founder, said he chose films that mesh with the festival mission “and also happen to be movies I personally admire. ‘Rockin’ the Wall’ has only been shown to sponsors and backers so far.”
The event will open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with two military-themed screenings at the Neon Movies: “Rescue Dawn” (2006), with Christian Bale as a U.S. fighter pilot shot down over Laos and held in a Vietnamese prison; and “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), an Oscar winner about World War II veterans who return home to families that have been transformed during their absences.
A personal introduction will precede each film.
Larry Schweikart, who produced “Rockin the Wall,” will speak before it’s shown at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Engineer’s Club. The film is based on a chapter of his book “Seven Events That Made America America.”
Tieber will introduce “The Best Years of Our Lives.”
The festival will also include “Places in the Heart” (1984), with Sally Field as a woman fighting to keep her farm during the Great Depression; “Empire of the Sun” (1987), with a younger Christian Bale as a boy separated from his parents during the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1941 who ends up in a confinement camp, but develops a fascination with aviation; and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975), with Jack Nicholson as a man whose plan to feign insanity gets him out of prison, but lands him in a mental hospital.
Ken Castor of Kettering, who was a prisoner of war in World War II, will introduce “Rescue Dawn.” Ron Rollins, president of FilmDayton, will speak before “Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Tieber said hopes the free admission will encourage parents to bring their children to the films that are suitable for them.
“Rockin’ the Wall” includes interviews with people who were on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall while it stood, including rock musicians who played behind the Iron Curtain.
CONTACT this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@DaytonDaily News.com.
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