ROSIE O’DONNELL moderates docfilm ‘REALITY WINNER’ Q&A with Winner’s mom, Billie Winner-Davis
By Oliver Carnay
Rosie O’Donnell started the Q&A held at Laemmle Noho theatre on Thursday, October 10th after the screening of “Reality Winner” docfilm by commending Billie Winner-Davis, mom of Reality Winner, the army veteran who was convicted under the Espionage Act after exposing the documents she sent to a news agency about Putin helping rig the 2016 election that installed Trump to presidency .. “(Billie) did every moment at that time with her daughter and a true testament of maternal love. It was so unbearably moving to me when I heard the story and I reached out to Billie and asked if there was any way that I could help.”
Comedienne and actor O’Donnell also swiped and segued at her perennial enemy (Trump), “.. but I couldn’t get over the fact that we had a “reality” loser in the White House, and then the “Reality Winner” being tried I thought, this is something we could just go!”
Director Sonia Kennebeck was supposed to be in the panel but she wasn’t able to attend because of Covid. Reality Winner was on live video feed but unfortunately, the voice feed wasn’t working.
The film was previously released in 2021 with the title “United States vs. Reality Winner” but the retitling upon this new theatre release is fitting as this is the only documentary film about Winner’s first-hand ordeal, in her own perspective, providing all the facts and exclusive access to her and the media outlet involved in her arrest. It also reveals FBI evidence never before released.
Director Kennebeck filmed Winner for five years starting from when she was arrested. The audio recording on the day she was questioned by FBI agents at her house is crucial and some of the strongest elements in the docfilm. The film is centered on her and her family’s emotional toll throughout the case and the moment where she meets them after she was released, after four years of incarceration, all captured in the film.
The film is being played in selected theatres and will be available on VOD after October 31. More information on this link:
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