synopsis
A former Marine and a public school teacher in two different states find themselves broke and unable to sustain their livelihoods through their jobs. Activated by the energy of the 2016 Sanders presidential campaign and the murmurs of a state-wide teacher strike, both turn to socialism, a once-fringe ideology, to tackle problems larger than themselves.
THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD delves into the rich history of the American socialist movement and journeys with the people striving to build a socialist future today.
With inequality growing, a climate catastrophe looming, and right-wing extremism ascending around the world, many Americans are wondering whether capitalism is to blame.
But what is the alternative? Socialism is plagued by conflicting definitions. Is it dictatorship or democracy? Norway or Venezuela? Reform or revolution?
This film explores where American socialism has been, why it was suppressed, and imagines what a renewed American socialism might look like.
meet the team
Yael Bridge, Director/Producer
Yael Bridge is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker. She produced Left on Purpose, winner of the Audience Award at DOC NYC. Most recently, she produced Saving Capitalism, starring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in Business and Economics. She was also the director of productions at Inequality Media, making viral videos that tackled complex political issues and gained over 100 million views in 2016. She holds an MFA in documentary film and video from Stanford University and an MA in media studies from the New School. She resides in Oakland, where she works as a filmmaker and film educator.
Morgan Spector, Producer
Morgan Spector is an actor and producer. Spector’s film credits include: Chuck, Permission, A Vigilante, and The Drop. TV credits includeThe Plot Against America, Pearson, Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, The Mist, and Allegiance.
Eden Wurmfeld, producer
Eden Wurmfeld is an Emmy-nominated fiction and documentary filmmaker. Most recently, Eden produced two independent docs—this socialism film and Chasing Childhood—each engaging with a unique set of social, cultural, and political issues. Previously, Eden produced the Netflix Original Saving Capitalism, featuring Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, which launched worldwide in 2017. Among her other documentary credits are No Impact Man (Sundance, Oscilloscope), Left on Purpose (Gunpowder and Steel), My So-Called Enemy (PBS) and Romeo Romeo (PBS). Eden’s earlier fiction films include the award-winning indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein, acquired by Fox Searchlight; Puccini for Beginners, which premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival; The Hammer (The Weinstein Co) and Swingers (Miramax).
Christie Herring, Editor/co-producer
Christie is an award-winning editor, director, and producer. She recently produced and edited Bias, a film that explores how our unconscious assumptions influence our choice, and Code: Debugging the Gender Gap (Tribeca Film Festival), which examines the lack of diversity in the tech industry. She edited The Impossible Flight for NOVA, with Jean Kawahara, and directed and produced the ITVS-funded film The Campaign for public television. Her other credits include work with PBS, National Geographic, A&E, MBC1, the History Channel, and nonprofit and corporate clients including SFMoMA, Levi’s, Facebook, and the Mississippi Center for Justice. Christie received her MA in documentary film at Stanford, is an educator with the American Film Showcase, and is the past Chair of the educational film distribution coop New Day Films.
William Haugse, Co-Editor
William Haugse has been nominated in editing categories for both an Oscar (Hoop Dreams, Fineline) and a national Emmy (Assassinated, Turner), and has received the American Cinema Editors top award, among other honors. He has edited scores of doc features and television films, including Stevie (Steve James, Lionsgate), and Sunset Story (Laura Gabbert, ITVS/PBS). He worked directly with Orson Welles and John Cassavetes on multiple projects, including extended-length trailers for their films Opening Night and F For Fake. Recent work includes Gore Vidal: United State of Amnesia (Tribeca Film Festival, 2013). His work was represented in two films at Sundance in 2015: In Football We Trust, and City of Gold.
Sasha Leitmann, Co-Producer
Sasha previously worked as production coordinator at Inequality Media, where she coordinated video shoots, conducted research, and managed the production line. She graduated with a BA in art history from Reed College.
Sub-Basement Archival, Archival Producers
Rachel Antell and Jen Petrucelli have over 20 years of experience in documentary film production. As archival producers, they have worked on many nationally broadcast and award-winning documentaries including Dolores, The Game Changers, Let It Fall, Saving Capitalism, Worlds of Ursula LeGuin, John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway, Moscone: A Legacy of Change, and Decade of Fire.
Ossei Essed, Composer
Ossei Essed is a multi-platform artist, performing and writing for screen and stage. Recent film composition credits include the award-winning films Always in Season (2019 Sundance Special Jury Award), Period. End of Sentence (2019 Academy Award winner), TOWER (2018 Emmy winner) and Jim: The James Foley Story (2016 Emmy winner). Essed performs with the Brooklyn-based bands The Woes and Big Hands Rhythm and Blues Band.
