Donning swastikas and brown shirts, or long white robes and hoods,
the attendees of a white supremacist rally are without a doubt a
disquieting and memorable sight. Coated with heavy symbolism that
pierces deep into the darkest shadows of America's racial history,
Klan members, neo-Nazis, and other right wing extremists are easily
passed off by most as simply members of a 'hate group.' But in
order to combat the existence of these organizations, we must first
understand them. How do members of these groups acquire their
beliefs? How does the white supremacist movement exist now, in a
country where it is considered by many to be a relic of the past?
And what are its goals for the future?
On the other side of the coin, what is it like to be a victim of violence perpetrated by this movement? Or what is it like to attempt to infiltrate or monitor right wing extremism, despite the dangers?
The film Revealing Hate will attempt to
answer some of these questions, through telling the stories of those
who have prosecuted, photographed, protested, infiltrated, and even
participated in these organizations. Each individual's story, told
separately in a vignette style, will shed more light on these
philosophies that continue to run deep within the fringes of our
society.
Mariah Wilson: Producer/Director
Mariah Wilson attended New York University's Tisch School of the
Arts from September 1999 until May 2003, and graduated with a
B.F.A. degree with honors in Film and Television Production.
For five years, she has worked at various independent television production companies around New York City on series for Discovery Health, National Geographic (MegaStructures), PBS (Nature, History Detectives), The History Channel (Super Tools, Our Generation), the Travel Channel, the Weather Channel, The Smithsonian Institution and the WE Network. She is currently developing and pitching a series idea to Planet Green, an offshoot of the Discovery Channel.
As a writer, she has written three feature length screenplays that are being sent by a manager to various studios for consideration. One has been optioned for production by the producers of 'Finding Neverland' and 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day', and is a finalist in the PAGE International Screenwriting Competition.
In 2004, she began to develop an idea for a documentary that concentrated on the life and work of Stetson Kennedy, a civil rights activist who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s. But as she researched modern right wing extremism more in-depth, she decided to expand the scope of the project, which is what eventually became Revealing Hate. Over four years, she shot interviews with seven people whose lives have been affected by the white supremacist movement in some way, and she is currently taking the film around to festivals.
Her latest project is an independent documentary about environmental volunteering around the world. She has completed three shoots, in Nepal, Costa Rica and Uganda. She's slated to complete her last shoot in Fiji in late 2009.
BENJAMIN ZIMBRIC: DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Benjamin Zimbric has been a cinematographer and producer in New York City for the past five years. He has recently finished up shooting on his first feature film, 'Synapse,' which is slated to begin its festival and theater run. He has also shot countless music videos, short films, reality shows, news events, live events and industrial videos.
Benjamin began working on Revealing Hate in 2004 and has been the director of photography on all major shoots. He also served as the film's technical producer.
NELS BANGERTER: EDITOR
Nels is a freelance film editor in New York City who has worked on the award-winning "War Child," (Audience Award at Tribeca 2008, IDA ABC News/VideoSource Award ) and "Out in the Silence" (funded through Sundance Doc Institute and featured at Silverdocs 2009. He co-produced and edited Cine Manifest (Mill Valley Film Festival)
CACTUS THREE FILMS: EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DISTRIBUTOR
Founded in 2003 by Julie Goldman, Krysanne Katsoolis and Caroline Stevens, Cactus Three offers a combination of both production and co-production expertise, creatively developing projects as well as securing both funding and distribution. Among the most notable feature documentaries produced by Cactus Three are Easy Riders Raging Bulls, Crazy Sexy Cancer, Doubletime, Black Sun, Three of Hearts, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Punk: Attitude, Cat Dancers, Once in a Lifetime, What Remains and Lewis Lapham's The American Ruling Class. Cactus Three is also responsible for such hit series as HBO's Family Bonds and the Sundance Channel's Office Tigers.