Dear Friends,
It’s official, I got an invitation to visit Russia in October and my visa application is on the way.
I am sure most of you are aware of the mounting tensions in Europe, on Russia’s borders, in the Asia Pacific, and in the Middle East.
Because of the severity of the provocations of the U.S. against Russia along Russia’s borders, and against China in the Asia Pacific, we are coming closer to Midnight, Doomsday. The title of my current film project is Thirty Seconds to Midnight – The Final Wake-up Call.
The film is finished for all practical purposes with the exception of a segment on Russia, but given the urgent nature of the current tensions between the U.S., NATO and Russia, I just had to accept an invitation to go to Russia.
The entire trip will cost approximately $6,000, so I am coming to you once again for your support. My own Veterans For Peace chapter here in Maine has already contributed $1,000 and The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space has contributed $500.
I plan to stay for three full weeks visiting Moscow, Crimea, St. Petersburg and other cities. A very special contact in Moscow, who speaks English, is organizing interviews and meetings with union workers, students, veterans, journalists and families.
Another friend, an American journalist living in Russia, is organizing other influential people to interview. I have also met two other English-speaking Russian friends on Facebook who also have offered to help out. I will produce a stand-along documentary on this trip to Russia in addition to using interviews and b-roll material in the film.
My purpose for going to Russia is to hear what Russian people think about peace, the current threats on their borders, and their views about Americans. The U.S. has long demonized Russia, the Russian people, and their leaders and I want to show how Russian people are just like us. They only want to live in peace, have decent lives, love their children and families, and have a hopeful future.
Never fearful of shooting for the stars, I have reached out to Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin who has shown a willingness to give interviews to foreign journalists and filmmakers.
Because of your past support, I was able to spend six weeks last summer filming in the Pacific with visits to Hawaii, Kyoto, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Jeju Island, and the Marshall Islands, and in May I visited Odessa, Ukraine with Bruce Gagnon for the anniversary of the May 2, 2013 massacre. The purpose was to show the U.S. military presence throughout the Pacific and how the “Pivot to Asia” and the placing of anti-missile defense systems are a direct provocation and threat to China.
During the past few months, I have interviewed the following key people who are all in the film:
- Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst
- Ann Wright, retired Colonel, and former U.S. State Department diplomat
- Helen Caldicott, internally renowned anti-nuclear activist
- Chris Hedges, author, activist, ordained minister
- Kathy Kelly, peace activist
- Peter Kuznick, Professor American University, co-author The Untold History of the U.S.
- David Vine, Professor American University, author Base Nation
- Giff Johnson, Editor The Marshall Islands Journal
- Kenneth Kedi, Marshall Islands Senator from Rongelap Atoll
- Bill McKibben, founder 350.org
- Sherri Mitchell, Maine Penobscot Indian
Thirty Seconds to Midnight has turned out to be a very large, two-year project tracing the trajectory of U.S. militarism and exceptionalism from the arrival of the first white, Europeans in the 15th century to the present day. America’s destiny as the exceptional, indispensable nation has brought humanity to the very brink of extinction.
My hope is the film will be a wake-up call and call to action for Americans to mobilize and stop this mad rush to nuclear annihilation.
Your help is need again to enable me to finish what I believe to be an important message to America and the world. You can help in two ways:
- Send a check made out to Regis Tremblay, 209 River Rd., Woolwich, Maine 04579
- Make a donation on line to the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/Space4Peace Be sure to indicate in the Dedication section, “for Regis Tremblay.” This contribution is tax-deductible.
Because I must make reservations as soon as possible, please contribute what you can as soon as possible.
Here is an exclusive peek at the draft of the opening to the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1wEKXTgkBA
With great thanks for your continued support,
Regis
