[critical] WELCOME TO LEITH

Hasalmost a presentation at the Sundance Film Festival and the South by Southwest Festival, WELCOME TO LEITH is the second documentary in competition at the Champs-Elysées Film Festival, after the very good Cartel Land.

Welcome to Leith, a small town in North Dakota. City deserted of 24 inhabitants, spread over 8 km², where reign the solidarity of rural north america, as well as a relative joy of living. At least until the advent of Craig Cobb, a white supremacist sixty year, that has to take the legal authority of Leith to set up a community neo-nazi and thus protect the “race” of aryan.

It is a story of breathtaking, almost surreal, that offers us WELCOME TO LEITH. With the arrival of this character the balance of the city rocker. The residents take afraid to face the machiavellian plan of Craig Cobb who buys one at a time and for a pittance of the lands of Leith, and resell or give to friends or organizations neo-nazi. The documentary follows this escalation of the fear and the exasperation of the inhabitants who, in the face of this character’s abject, intelligent, manipulative and litigious, to seek all possible means to prevent harm.

Beyond the single situation of the town of Leith, which ultimately serves as an illustration for a about more wide, WELCOME TO LEITH gives to see the persistence of the ideology neo-nazi, and its means of dissemination. Craig Cobb, who claims itself as ” one of the biggest racist in the world “, argues in effect openly of the extermination of populations of african-american and jewish. The documentary then raises the question of the freedom of expression, a true inalienable human right and amendment to founder of the american constitution, including the lack of limits inevitably raises a problem when it allows the call to hatred and murder. Throughout the film Craig Cobb is all the more detestable they have the law on his side. It broadcasts without complex ideology, buy legally private property to implement the plan, causes a verbal people, and is in his right to hold the guard towers armed in the city…

“A documentary building on an incredible story and a character repugnant. Exciting and necessary.”

In the midst of the chills provided by the film, by the reality of the situation and yet looks almost absurd, one can sometimes not help but release a light laugh, embarrassed in the face about mind-blowing that are required and the readiness with which they are say. Some situations, however, are very funny for their irony, but I do not venture to spoil here… sort of WELCOME TO LEITH is a part of these films documentaries, of the facts so incredible that, after watching, one said : “it is so crazy that in a movie it would be fantastic.” Thus, after projection, the film producer said to us that when the story was first reported by the New York Times, nothing was taken seriously, bringing laughter and teasing. This documentary is more and more necessary…

The high quality of the film is that the two filmmakers Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker, do not give in to the temptation of the trial, and prefer an approach that is more objective and therefore effective. Each of the two opposing camps are indeed addressed with the same seriousness and everyone can speak. The images speak for themselves : fear reigns in Leith and the State is helpless. WELCOME TO LEITH creates a real empathy for the people who feel unjustly abandoned and do not know how to respond to this hate. Their actions of resistance are also they also question and debate because, either way, Craig Cobb and his cronies are still citizens do not violate any law.

WELCOME TO LEITH is a good slap. A documentary need, and building on an incredible story and a character repugnant. Exciting end-to-end, the movie opens with the reflection and questioning. The film reservation, in addition, many other surprises, and inevitably you come out stunned, shocked. In sum, an excellent documentary, which I hope will one day be distributed in France, the message of the film is not own in the United States.

WELCOME TO LEITH has been proposed in the framework of the Champs-Élysées Film Festival 2015