Why hold a festival to celebrate

Silkwood, Serpico, All The President’s Men, Erin Brockovich, The Insider…  America loves whistleblower stories, whether in books or movies. Unfortunately, society doesn't seem to like actual whistleblowers very much. However, we celebrate them at the Whistleblower Summit. Since 2007, whistleblowers and advocates have convened an annual conference on Capitol Hill originally known as Washington Whistleblower's Week to draw attention to our advocacy and build a sense of community and solidarity. This week-long event that features plenary sessions, workshops and panel discussions, whistleblower book signings, film screenings, National Whistleblower Day Senate Luncheon, Awards Reception, Pillar Awards Presentations, and Whistleblower Solidarity Dinner. We have formed an unlikely community of whistleblowers and activists.

Additionally, we recognize that cinema is a powerful medium for highlighting civil and human rights violations across the globe. We seek to shine a light on stories of courage and perseverance in the face of injustice and to encourage individuals to stand together to achieve human rights for all. We present films about whistleblowers, the First Amendment or that touch on one or several human rights issues connected to our areas of work, which includes freedom of expression, women's rights, discrimination, communal violence, human rights defenders, among other issues. The Whistleblower Summit is unique because it combines legislative advocacy, public policy discussions with community and social events, including book signings and a film festival. We discovered that appealing to popular culture is the best way to spread our message of civil and human rights, social justice and speaking truth to power to the broadest world-wide audience.

Speak Truth to Power

You can help give more power and voice to whistleblowers by supporting the Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival. You will be helping to highlight civil and human rights violations across the globe. Call us at (870) 543-0024 or email us at mccray.michael@gmail.com.

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