On April 4th, 2017, movie theaters across the country will be
participating collectively in a NATIONAL EVENT DAY screening of the
movie 1984 (starring John Hurt who, sadly, just passed away). This date
has been chosen because it’s the day George Orwell’s protagonist Winston
Smith begins rebelling against his oppressive government by keeping a
forbidden diary. We hope that through nationwide participation and
strength in numbers, these screenings will galvanize people to come
together at the crossroads of cinema and community to foster
communication and resistance against current efforts that undermine the
most basic tenets of our society. Proceeds from this screening will be
used for the purposes of underwriting future educational and
community-related programming.
Adapted from George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel by
writer-director Michael Radford, 1984 stars John Hurt as Winston Smith, a
drone in a totalitarian state dominated by the supreme figurehead, Big
Brother. Attempting to break out, he has an affair with Julia (Suzanna
Hamilton), a rebellious sensualist, but then has to deal with O’Brien
(Richard Burton), a powerful tool of the state. Winston and Julia are
tracked down by the Thought Police and “re-educated” into loving the
State.