Where Left Is Right / The Old Site

In yet another sign that the tide of public opinion and media fearfulness may be turning [PLEASE GOD OH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE], a new film distribution company named Milliarium Zero (an offshoot of Milestone Films) has been "created to acquire and release films of strong political and social content." Their first release: "Winter Soldier," "a documentary chronicle of the extraordinary Winter Soldier Investigation conducted by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in Detroit during the winter of 1971." From the press release posted at the Digitally Obsessed site:

The Winter Soldier Investigation took place in the second-floor ballroom of a Howard Johnson's motel in Detroit, January 31 - February 2, 1971. The organizers chose the name for the meeting from a line in Thomas Paine's first Crisis Paper: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country. But he who stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." The Vietnam veterans saw themselves as soldiers, in the darkest of times, battling the wrongs of the war and speaking out against the brutal training that made them capable of unthinkable violence.
...
Over the course of four days and nights, using donated equipment and film stock, the Winterfilm members shot footage of more than 125 veterans (including a very young John Kerry). These men, who represented every major combat unit that saw action in Vietnam, gave eyewitness testimony to war crimes and atrocities they either participated in or witnessed. Members of the collective next spent eight months editing the raw footage from the hearings together with film clips and snapshots from Vietnam into the 95-minute feature documentary Winter Soldier. Because the proceedings went virtually unreported by the media, the film became the only complete record of the testimony.

Milliarium Zero doesn't seem to have its own Web site yet. However, Milestone has set one up for "Winter Soldier" itself.

What's the source of the company's slightly strange name?

Milliarium Zero translates to "zero milepost." In the US, this official landmark is located opposite the White House.

Gotta love it.

(News first spotted at the Turner Classic Movies "Movie News" page.)