Oscar Winner Laura Poitras Bashes Toronto, Venice For Programming Hillary Clinton Docs, Accuses Festivals Of “Kind Of Whitewashing” Clinton’s Record
deadline.comOscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras sharply criticized the Toronto and Venice film festivals today for programming documentaries connected with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting the decision bordered on a “whitewashing” of history.Her remarks came at TIFF’s Doc Conference, a day after Poitras’s new documentary, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, made its North American premiere in Toronto.
The film about artist Nan Goldin and her crusade against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, won the Golden Lion at Venice.Poitras attended Venice, as did Secretary Clinton, the latter in support of her Apple TV+ docuseries Gutsy.
Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton then headed to TIFF, where they unveiled In Her Hands, a documentary executive produced by the Clintons that focuses on one of Afghanistan’s few female mayors.“It’s alarming to see some of the most powerful people in the world, such as Hillary Clinton, walking a red carpet at Venice, and at TIFF, and saying nothing,” Poitras declared. “And, I would argue, also engaging in a kind of whitewashing.
I mean, Hillary Clinton was actively involved in the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She supported the escalation of troops.”Poitras added pointedly, “I really find it troubling that this is all being forgotten and we’re providing a platform.
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