TRUTH, DECEPTION, AND THE SPIRIT OF I.F. STONE

Official Selection, TIFF 2016
Official Selection, TIFF 2016

Independent journalists Jeremy Scahill, Glenn Greenwald, and Michael Moore expose government lies and corporate deception, inspired by the legendary investigative journalist I.F. Stone.

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone is a theatrical documentary created by a team of Emmy Award-winning filmmakers, who subscribed to I. F. Stone’s newsletter in their teens.

“I. F. Stone’s Weekly” inspired us then, and compels us now to tell the story of a new wave of independent, investigative, adversarial journalists following in Stone’s footsteps.

We hope this film will inspire the next generation of independent journalists, many of whom are now in college, to carry on I.F. Stone’s legacy of speaking truth to power.

This film will change the way you look at the mainstream media or “MSM”. Giant media conglomerates are increasingly reluctant to investigate or criticize government policies – particularly on defense, security and intelligence issues.

They are ceding responsibility for holding governments and corporations accountable to the independent journalists and filmmakers who risk their careers, their freedom and their lives in war zones – to expose the truth.

With government deception rampant, and intrusion of state surveillance into private life never more egregious, independent voices like Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and Amy Goodman are crucially important. All three are inspired by the iconoclastic rebel journalist named I. F. Stone, whose fearless, independent reporting from 1953 to 1971 filled a tiny 4-page newsletter which he wrote, published, and carried to the mailbox every week.

Stone is little known today, but All Governments Lie will reveal the profound influence he’s had on contemporary independent journalists like Greenwald, Scahill, Goodman and others.

FRED PEABODY

Fred Peabody is an Emmy-winning journalist and filmmaker whose credits include seven years as a producer-director on the acclaimed CBC investigative program “the fifth estate”. In 2003 he was Supervising Producer on “Perfect Illusions”, a PBS documentary about eating disorders in young women. His film on the childhood exploitation of the Dionne quintuplets was nominated for an Emmy in 1998, and he won an Emmy in 1989 for a film about wild horses rescued from starvation and abuse.

PETER RAYMONT

Emmy-Award winning filmmaker, journalist and writer Peter Raymont has produced and directed more than 100 documentary films and series during his 43 year career. Raymont's films are informed with a passion for human rights and social justice, and are regularly broadcast on TV networks worldwide. Many of Raymont’s films expose flaws and weaknesses in the mainstream news media.

His documentary feature, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire won the 2005 Sundance Festival Audience Award for World Cinema Documentaries, and the 2007 Emmy Award for Best Documentary. Raymont's 2007 documentary feature A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman, was short-listed for an Academy award.

JEFF COHEN

Jeff Cohen is founding director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College in New York. He is the former Senior Producer of the Phil Donahue show at MSNBC. Cohen has been a consultant and/or interviewee on many award-winning documentaries, including “Shadows of Liberty”, “War Made Easy” and “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism”. He is the founder of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, a leading U.S. media watchdog group.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN WESTHEUSER

John Westheuser is an accomplished Cinematographer specializing in dynamic, character-driven storytelling. In addition to his extensive track record as a documentary DP, John is also recognized for his expertise as a shooter/director in non-scripted series production. His work includes “Shake Hands with the Devil” “Life with Murder” and “Omar Khadr: Out of the Shadows.”

Director Fred Peabody
Producers Peter Raymont, Andrew Munger, Steve Ord
Executive Producers Peter Raymont, Jeff Cohen, Steve Ord, Oliver Stone
Editors Jim Munro, James Yates
Director of Photography John Westheuser
Sound Sanjay Mehta, Jason Milligan, Peter Sawade
Composer Mark Korven

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone is produced by White Pine Pictures in association with Super Channel and Société Radio-Canada with the participation of Canada Media Fund and The Ontario Media Development Corporation with the generous assistance of The Park Foundation and The Knight Foundation/Catalytic Diplomacy

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone is a sponsored project of IFP (www.IFP.org)

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