Bay Area to Host 9/11 Conspiracy Movie Festival

Ten years after the devastating Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, some Bay Area residents continue to question the official version of events, and will discuss their doubts at a film festival in Oakland and San Francisco this week.

The festival, "9/11 Reclaiming the Truth, Reclaiming our Future," is organized by the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance, a group that formed shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The lineup of films and speakers kicked off at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland this afternoon, and will continue on Sunday at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco after a march from Justin Herman Plaza to the theater.
   
Similar events are being held in Seattle and in Toronto, and a portion of those events will be broadcast live in the Bay Area as part of the film festival.

The slate of films includes "Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup," "9/11: Explosive Evidence -- Experts Speak Out," and "We Were Also Killed on 9/11: First Responders."

"We've had rallies every year," said Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance co-founder Carol Brouillet. She said the group organized its first film festival in 2004 and has had similar events every year since.

She said the main goal of the festival is to inform attendees about "the disparity between the official version and the actual events."

With an event of such magnitude as the Sept. 11 attacks, the details are complicated and there is a huge amount of information to digest.

For that reason, Brouillet said, there is little agreement even among members of her group as to what happened on that day.

"Nobody has the same idea of what happened, because it was big, complex, and no one has access to all the information," Brouillet said.

However, she believes that the federal government was at the very least informed about the attacks and allowed them to happen as justification for a shift in foreign and domestic policy.

While that view has never gained traction in the mainstream, a recent BBC News poll found that 15 percent of those polled in the U.S. believe that there was a conspiracy behind 9/11 that involved the federal government.
   
Brouillet believes that the people raising the questions, who she said are often highly educated, have been unfairly labeled as conspiracy theorists. She acknowledged that the general public finds the topic uncomfortable.
   
She said the festival will also address the attacks' psychological effects on Americans, including fear and anger.

"It was the event of the century, so many people's identity is linked to their identity as an American. They have to do some soul-searching to see what's real, what's true, and who they are, and how to respond to this new information," Brouillet said.

Those who want to know more about the festival can visit http://www.communitycurrency.org/filmfestival2011.html