Who Bombed Judi Bari?

Poster for the documentary, “Who Bombed Judi Bari?”

Who Bombed Judi Bari? documentary presents the unsolved mystery of the 1990 car bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, chronicles the FBI’s refusal to investigate the car bombing of these two Redwood activists, its arrest of victims; and a 1st amendment lawsuit against the Feds.

After winning four awards, filling theaters, and receiving media and audience acclaim, Who Bombed Judi Bari?, the 93-minute documentary, will meet a new audience on September 22 in Malibu, for more details check out the schedule of events at: http://whobombedjudibari.com

The movie chronicles one of the great American unsolved mysteries: Who, on May 24, 1990, tried to kill with a car bomb one of the most prominent environmental organizers of her day — Judi Bari? The movie is composed of 100% archival footage including a special Humboldt County live version of “Angel from Montgomery” performed by Bonnie Raitt, a live version of Shady Grove by the David Grisman Quintet performing at a tree-sit, rare footage of Woody Harrelson Climbing the Golden Gate Bridge, a tribute to Judi Bari by Jerry Brown, and a powerful press conference held by the late, legendary environmentalist, David Brower. The movie is narrated by Judi Bari herself, shot on camera as she told her life story through her deathbed testimony. As she weaves her tale under oath, the movie flashes back and forth to footage of the daring, action-packed, yet often humorous and musical scenes she depicts.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQrdsCtZ-Y&w=560&h=315]

Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were car-bombed in 1990 while on their way to a musical and environmental organizing performance for three months of demonstrations called Redwood Summer. It was a hot political year with an initiative which would have reformed California forest practices on the ballot. Judi Bari was galvanizing thousands to come to Humboldt and Mendocino Counties to camp out and protest. After receiving dozens of death threats, Bari and Cherney were car bombed in Oakland. Yet, the FBI and Oakland Police chose to immediately arrest them for “transportation of an explosive device” rather than seek out the would-be assassin. Bari and Cherney went on to sue the FBI and OPD for First and Fourth Amendment Violations of the U.S. Constitution. They won $4 million, though not before Judi died of cancer seven years after surviving the crippling bombing.

Part of their post-trial settlement included attaining the right to analyze evidence should the authorities choose to dispose of it. In particular, there were two bombs, both made by the individual who bombed Bari’s car. A bombing, two weeks earlier on May 8, 1990, targeted a sawmill and failed to exploded properly, leaving the devise mostly intact. It is this first bomb, which contains about 6 feet of duct tape, which has tremendous evidential value. However, the FBI is refusing to turn the evidence over (or test it themselves, for that matter). Two recent federal court rulings in April 2011 and again in March 2012 ordered the FBI to turn over the bomb remnants to an independent laboratory to discern any identifying features. (Court order available upon request). It is believed that the bomb was made by the same person because an anonymous letter from “The Lord’s Avenger” took credit for both bombs, describing them accurately in great detail. The FBI now has until Friday, August 31, to either agree or offer changes to the Bari-Cherney Legal team’s proposed order to transport the bomb from the FBI’s San Francisco office to the laboratory.

Meanwhile, the movie is winning awards, including the nationally prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award. It has won Best Documentary award from The Santa Cruz and Desert Rocks Film Festivals, as well as Best Feature from the Davis Film Festival. The movie has also been shown by over 20 film festivals, thus far, see schedule http://whobombedjudibari.com/.

Additional Fall screenings will take place at the Santa Rosa International Film Festival, the Harlem Film Festival, The Long Island Film Festival, the Oakland Underground Film Festival, Bioneers Conference, and the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival; with additional theatrical screenings in Los Angeles (week-long), New York City (week-long), Eugene, Portland, OR, Gainesville, Albuquerque and more.

Next screening: the Toyota-Malibu International Film Festival, Malibu Public Library, 23519 Civic Center Way on Sat., Sept. 22 @ 2 pm.Website for trailer, stills, bios, schedule, and more: http://whobombedjudibari.com/ Online screeners available for the press upon request.