A More Civil War

Inside and outside Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, activists, journalists, and politicians run up against America's divided socio-political landscape. The 50,000 delegates who have descended on the city for the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the many protesters who oppose them, lend it a carnival atmosphere. Clevelanders of all stripes are out in force. Earnest young podcasters cover the event. Minister-activist Kyle Earley agitates on behalf of people living in poverty. Televangelist Mark Burns and radio talk show host Laura Ingraham make rabble-rousing speeches inside The Q, while customers at the Diamond Cut barbershop debate the coming election. Despite the city's curbs on protest, the women of Code Pink continue to plot disruption. Rants and diatribes abound. A strong police presence tamps down inflamed passions. As conveyed in A More Civil War in the chaos of this political theater, any voices of reason are outshouted. Yet Pastor Kyle Earley remains conciliatory, asking "How can we love, when there's so much hate in this world?" The national conversation can't get any less civil, so we all have to work toward compromise. (Cleveland International Film Festival)