DVDs for educational sale



The Boogie Man educational DVD with abbreviated Teacher’s Guide is now available exclusively for educational purchase, before its national theatrical release in Fall 2008. Filmmaker Stefan Forbes and producer Noland Walker are also available for speaking engagements. Details and customer assistance are available by calling 917-450-3847 or emailing a request for an invoice to: info [at] interpositive [dot] com. Or click below to purchase.

BOOGIE MAN: The Lee Atwater Story
USA, 86 minutes
Political Science, Sociology, African-American Studies, American History, Communications, Media Studies, Journalism, American Studies
US Release date: 2008
Director: Stefan Forbes
Producers: Stefan Forbes, Noland Walker

Educational price w/performance rights: $249.


From the producer of PBS’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning film Citizen King and Africans in America and the Emmy-nominated director of PBS’s award-winning film One More Dead Fish comes the compelling story of Lee Atwater, the blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious rise from the South to Chairman of the GOP made him a household name. Without Atwater, neither Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush might have been elected. Atwater mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush while making the GOP a Southern party, expertly advancing the culture wars, transforming the way the American media covers elections, and becoming seen as the godfather of modern negative campaigning.

Despite his friendships with legendary American R&B artists James Brown, Chuck Jackson (interviewed in the film) and BB King, Atwater was accused of racially inflammatory tactics. With inside analysis from elite Republican leaders and important journalists, and compelling, never-before-seen archival footage of Atwater and both Presidents Bush, this instant political classic is an important re-examination of the last 40 years of American history. And with Atwater protégés working as senior advisors to the McCain campaign, this is a timely examination of how Atwater’s ghost looms over modern American politics.

“Fascinating!” - Ella Taylor, LA Weekly Critic’s Pick

“One of the most important films shown this year. It may have a big impact in a season where we will elect a new President.” -Allen Maurer, NCFlix.com

“Perhaps the most accomplished documentary at the LA Film Festival…as timely as it is comprehensive…sure to resonate far and wide with viewers on both sides of the political fence. An often hilariously shocking ninety-minutes of screen time that prides itself on personable interviews and a plethora of fantastic found footage.” - Indiewire.com

“Boogie Man paints a complex portrait of a complex figure…one of the many pleasures of Forbes’s documentary that we hear from people who appreciated and understood all these contradictions.” - James Rocchi, Cinematical.com

“Immense insight…There is no narration, just eloquent editing by Forbes to provide an evenly toned and balanced portrayal…you can’t help but walk away from this film with a deeper, richer understanding of how instrumental Lee Atwater was. One of my top picks as a MUST SEE!” -Debbie Elias, Santa Monica Observer

“Director Stefan Forbes efficiently lays out the case for Atwater as a more influential political mind than Karl Rove…to learn that former enemy Ed Rollins would return to be at Atwater’s deathbed as a sympathizer is one of the many surprises Forbes has up his sleeve in a compelling doc that has just enough spice to do the man proud.” -Stephen Saito, www.ifc.com

“Under Forbes’ skillful direction, Boogie Man gathers an impressive cast of characters to tell the story. But what works best in the film is the subtext—the long, deep, dark history of the Deep South; the ever-festering scar of race in America; the vulnerability of the democratic process. Over the last eight years we have witnessed the legacy of Atwater’s black arts.” - Thomas White, editor, Documentary Magazine

“Boogie Man is a must-see!” - Jonathan Martin, Politico.com

“I thought I’d seen enough of American electoral politics until I watched Boogie Man. This is a superb film - caustic, humorous and totally unforgiving. I suspect I’d have liked Atwater very much and enjoyed his stories about the various politicians he shafted!” -Nick Fraser, BBC Commissioning Editor

“A compelling portrait of one of the great con men of modern American politics…bracing…worth watching. The movie isn’t a knee-jerk lefty hit job. In fact, it shows that Atwater was a runaway success not just because he was a devious political operator, but because, in the words of one liberal reporter Forbes interviewed, the sass-talking, guitar-playing Atwater “was the most fun man I ever met…The documentary offers much to think about - why are we so easily manipulated into voting our fears?” -Patrick Goldstein, LA Times

“The pic is sure to win votes in election season…a model of sharp pacing.” - Variety, Critic’s Pick

“Phenomenally good. A riveting look into the life and mind of Lee Atwater, the mastermind of contemporary slash-and-burn politics.” - Drew Westen, author, The Political Brain

“A compelling, timely, and provocative film about how modern America took a further dive into dirty politics.” - Barbara Kopple, filmmaker

“The coolest blues soundtrack you will ever hear on a political documentary.” -Brad Schreiber, EntertainmentToday.net

Stefan Forbes, Producer/Director

Mr. Forbes is an Emmy-nominated Director. His documentary One More Dead Fish, about renegade fishermen in Nova Scotia struggling to survive globalization, broadcast on PBS, was called “inspiring” by the Detroit News, “fascinating” by noted historian Howard Zinn, and “wonderful” by Cannes Palme D’Or-winning filmmaker Ken Loach. Mr. Forbes has written and directed Emmy-nominated, award-winning national PSA campaigns featuring actors Charlize Theron, Gywneth Paltrow, Mike Myers, Susan Sarandon, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Matthew Broderick, and others. He is a 2006 NYFA Fellow. Boogie Man is his debut feature.

Noland Walker, producer

Mr. Walker is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker who wrote and co-produced the acclaimed new documentary, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. He co-produced and co-directed Citizen King, a two-hour film about the last years of Martin Luther King’s life for PBS’s American Experience. The film premiered at the Sundance Film festival and screened in festivals around the world. Mr Walker has written and/or directed several documentary films which have aired nationally on PBS, including an episode of the groundbreaking 1998 series Africans in America.

Cast: Ed Rollins, Gov. Michael Dukakis, Howard Fineman, Mary Matalin, Sam Donaldson, Terry McAuliffe, Ishmael Reed, Tom DeLay, Tucker Eskew, Jack Bass, PhD., Eric Alterman, Joe Conason, Roger Stone, Bob Novak, and others

Archival: Lee Atwater, Strom Thurmond, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Leslie Stahl, Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer, Trent Lott, Dan Rather, Karl Rove, B.B. King, Bob Dole, Bryant Gumbel, Mario Cuomo, Ted Kennedy, Dick Cheney, and others