It’s less than three weeks until the American presidential election and each passing day in this country seems to stack fraught anxieties atop one another. Timing our existential stress perfectly, this week Netflix released The Trial of the Chicago 7, a political courtroom drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. The film examines Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the trial to prosecute leaders of the different organizations that protested. The film conveys many stark statements of injustice about law enforcement and the harmful political posturing of other people in power. This content is in Sorkin’s wheelhouse so The Film Board can’t wait to view and discuss it at such a pivotal time.

Tommy Metz III, Ray Delancey, Kyle Olson, and Justin "JJ" Jaeger will be assembling peacefully to make their voices heard about this movie that stars some heavy hitters like Sascha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, and Michael Keaton. To some degree, we’ll be talking directly about the politics of what’s happening in the film as far as we understand it. It’s been more than 50 years, but it highlights much of the systemic frustrations that continue to plague the country today. Sorkin’s work has always been a creative mix of information and entertainment so we’ll try to bake it into an appropriate journalistic show cake for all of you. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I present to you The Film Board.

Learn how to support our show and The Next Reel’s family of film podcasts by becoming a member. It's just $5 monthly or $55 annually. Learn more here.

Follow the other podcasts in The Next Reel’s family of film podcasts:

Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world in our Discord community!

Here’s where you can find us around the internet:

What are some other ways you can support us and show your love? Glad you asked!