Thompson, who had press credentials for the event, takes the viewer into the fray of tear gas, pepper spray, and police abuse; behind the lines and inside the convention center and press rooms; and along the marches, sit-ins, and demonstrations. His dynamic, up-close footage captures the passion, the confusion, the anger, and the courage of everyone involved, from protesters to police to delegates to bureaucrats.

With Thompson narrating, the film asks viewers to emotionally engage their own conflicting feelings about the demonstrations and behind-closed-doors meetings. "I was intrigued by taking a singular, personal approach to the events," says Thompson, as he recounts how the protests affected him as a journalist and a common citizen. The result is an impressionistic journal of a decisive week that exploded into a massive expression of freedom: of speech, of assembly, and the press.



Grade Level: 10-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2000     Copyright Date: 2000
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-403-6     VHS ISBN: 1-56029-881-2

Reviews "This film is essential to anyone trying to come to grips with the events in Seattle and the continuing debate over globalization. Highly recommended." Library Journal "(A) highly watchable personal video documentary...the sense of what it was like to be there is pungent throughout." Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader (from capsule review) "Standout documentary, Rus Thompson's 30 Frames a Second is a user-friendly guide to the Seattle anti-WTO demonstrations." Amy Taubin, Village Voice "Both polished and provocative, Thompson...furnish(es) remarkable testimony by a reflective witness operating outside the predictable agendas and usual players seen in the newscasts." Chicago Sun-Times "If I had to review...30 FRAMES...in only three words, I'd say it's honest, energizing agitprop...(W)hat marks (it) as agitprop is Thompson's own political conversion, seemingly brought about by his participation in the events." Rating: A must-see. Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader (from full review) "A fine work of memory, delicately crafted and suitably humble...one of the more aesthetically resonant diaries of the protests you're likely to see." The Stranger (Seattle) "(Thompson's) first person postcard is one of the most jarring things I've seen in ages...What country, what year is this, you want to ask as your jaw drops." New City (Chicago)