This is a quick heads-up for Grail listeners hailing from the Land of Enchantment: the short documentary The Conspiratologist (which we reviewed last August) featuring the life and work of researcher Norio Hayakawa will have its premiere debut this weekend, at the Santa Fe International Film Festival. The film has been accepted to the festival under the New Mexico Documentary Shorts Program and will screen at the CCA Cinema on Sunday, October 23rd at 5:00pm, local time.
From co-director Justin Jones:
The Conspiratologist, directed by Stephen Bradford and Justin Jay Jones, is a comprehensive look at the colorful life of Norio Hayakawa, a Japanese American conspiracy researcher living in Albuquerque. For decades Norio has studied UFO’s, Area 51, and the impact conspiracy theories have on American culture. The film also explores Norio’s passion for country western and his signature “Cosmic Wave” music.
The filmmakers will be in attendance at the screening, along with Norio and his wife.
As I wrote on my review of the film, The Conspiratologist is a good way to begin to understand how the conspiracy theories of the 1990s created the fertile ground from which the weeds of Q-Anon and modern XXIst century conspiracies sprouted. Being interested in UFOs and Area 51 is all fun and games until it begins to erode the foundation of American democracy as we know it!
So, if you are around the Santa Fe area you might want to give the film festival a chance. No doubt there will also be many other wonderful movies to enjoy.
