Red Squad (1972)

by Steven Fischler, Joel Sucher, Howard Blatt & Francis Freedland.

“[A]n extraordinary work of investigative journalism” Richard Brody

The fourth installment of Documentary Meets, with a furtive eye on the theme of ‘SURVEILLANCE’, asks the question – age-old but evergreen, and ever more pressing – ‘who will watch the watchers?’

Join us at Composite Moving Image Bank on the evening of Thursday, May 20, for a one-off screening of Red Squad (1972), in which four young documentarians, members of the then-newly-minted Pacific Street Films Collective, set out to investigate the branch of the NYPD that gives this documentary its title: the highly secretive Red Squad specialised in surveilling, infiltrating, and subverting the efforts of leftist political groups – from communists to anti-Vietnam protestors to the civil rights movement and the ACLU. The filmmakers conduct their investigation with a seriousness of purpose that’s offset by a waggish sense of humour – maintained even when they themselves inevitably come under the Squad’s scrutiny.

This screening will include a pre-recorded introduction by directors and Pacific Street Films co-founders Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher.