“Freedoms Under Assault,” a documentary critiquing Indiana University’s administration, debuted to a packed Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Sunday.
The documentary was created by award-winning filmmaker Jacky Comforty and IU Chancellor's Professor Emeritus Robert Arnove. The film combines video from the past two years with archival footage from as far back as the 60s to capture how IU has changed.
Those interviewed in the documentary, many of whom were in attendance at the Buskirk-Chumley, provided personal accounts of events such as the forceful arrest of protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment in Dunn Meadow last year and the enforcement of IU’s Expressive Activity Policy against candlelight vigils that purposefully violated the policy near Sample Gates.
Ushers had to turn people away after the theater reached capacity at 500, Arnove said. The crowd for the showing was lively, giving audible reactions to almost every on-screen appearance of former and current IU faculty and administrators, including an eruption of boos for President Pamela Whitten.
The crowd gave loud applause for former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as for faculty who spoke against IU administration’s position on topics like tenure, institutional economy, academic freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
Former IU Associate Vice President for Overseas Study Kathleen Sideli told the filmmakers she hadn’t heard so much applause since she “saw the Beatles back in the 1960s.”
The idea for the documentary began when Comforty, a filmmaker who won a Gold Award at the Florence International Film Festival for his work on “Balkan Jazz,” reached out to Arnove, a frequent collaborator and friend, who he called his “brother from another mother.”
Comforty told Arnove about a friend that had been dealing with censorship at a different university and suggested making a documentary about similar issues they saw at IU.
Arnove agreed to make the documentary as long as Comforty helped. The pair worked together on “Monument to Love,” a documentary about Comforty’s mother which explores the perspective of Jewish people during the Holocaust.
“I've distributed my own work since more than 35 years," Comforty said, “but this is insane, in a way, also the most mainstream news-oriented and news-related and news-working film I've ever been involved in, and so I think there is a huge audience for it.”
At one point in the documentary, former IU trustee Vivian Winston discussed the removal of the three alumni-elected members on the Board of Trustees. Gov. Mike Braun removed Winston May 31, after a last-minute addition to the state budget bill gave him sole authority to appoint the board.
Justin Vasel, a former Board of Trustees candidate, is suing Braun for the change. Vasel attended the screening and felt connected with the lively audience’s reaction to the film.
“Having put a lot of work into a campaign and hoping for the chance to try to make the university better, having that suddenly taken away was a pretty devastating experience,” Vasel said. “Being in the room with everybody, it just reminded me that the IU community is one that really cares about everyone else in their community.”
Arnove said IU has changed over the years and that top programs and majors are “under attack.” By documenting events and providing interviewees' reaction to them, Arnove said he hopes to contextualize recent changes for students who aren’t as familiar with the events depicted in the documentary.
“This university which they came to is under assault and being dismantled piece by piece,” Arnove said.
The film is a work in progress, Comforty said, and pointed to editing, camera work, and a more focused approach to its story as needed changes. Both filmmakers said that one of the biggest challenges in making the documentary was the abundance of material they wanted to include. The filmmakers often found themselves having to rush to cover events as they unfolded in real time.
By screening the film at the Buskirk-Chumley before it’s finished, the filmmakers sought funding to finish the film and share it with film festivals. After receiving what they estimated to be around $16,000 after the screening, both through a GoFundMe and two full buckets of donations, Arnove and Comforty said they are set on distributing the film to the largest possible audience.
Arnove said one of the film’s main purposes is “to inform and mobilize.”
“We’re standing up to bullies with it,” Arnove said.
The film's values are stated clearly as the end credits begin to roll over a protester standing in front of Sample Gates, who yells: “IU is worth fighting for. Free speech is worth fighting for.”
