Errol Morris on his M.I.A. Steve Bannon doc: 'Fuck 'em. I will distribute the movie myself'

Doc legend debuted American Dharma at Venice, but buyers never materialized

Steve Bannon, subject of the Errol Morris documentary "American Dharma." Photo courtesy TIFF

Twitter is cheering on Errol Morris after the director announced plans to self-distribute his Steve Bannon film American Dharma. The documentary about the alt-right ideologist and head of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign held its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September and then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, but shockingly failed to attract buyers.

"Fuck 'em. I will distribute the movie myself," Morris declared on his verified Twitter account Tuesday. He did not indicate who the "them" in "fuck 'em" referred to, but presumably that alluded to whichever distributors passed on the project (Morris' most recent film/series, Wormwood, premiered on Netflix; NEON distributed his 2016 documentary The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography). 

"If Errol Morris can't get distribution, we're all fucked," director Brett Morgen tweeted, not long after Morris made his announcement. 

Another fan helpfully made a graphic of Morris' statement, earning a re-tweet from the filmmaker.

That just about captures it. https://t.co/ssvUJ6gTcA

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

Morgan Pehme, co-director of a documentary about Trump confidante Roger Stone, wrote on Twitter, "I want the opportunity to see American Dharma, Morris's Steve Bannon movie, and you should too. Tweet at your favorite distributor and tell them to buy this film!"

Morris also used the micro-blogging platform to solicit tag lines for American Dharma, which he said would soon get a trailer and one-sheet.

CROWD SOURCING OPPORTUNITIES. Looking for a tag line. Open to suggestions, e.g., "American Dharma, the movie they were afraid to distribute," or "American Dharma, a portrait of delusion..."

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

Morris did not specify when American Dharma would become available or how he planned to distribute it. His announcement comes as a separate Steve Bannon documentary, directed by Alison Klayman, is due to arrive in theaters. Her film, The Brink, opens in New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC on Friday, March 29 after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

Steve Bannon as seen in "The Brink," directed by Alison Klayman. Photo courtesy Magnolia Pictures

Bannon comes off as an affable advocate for white hegemony and populist "champion of the people" in The Brink, unapologetically talking up the virtues of nationalism in the U.S. and Europe, despite the atrocious impact of that worldview (see Hitler's Germany, Franco's Spain and Mussolini's Italy). 

As for American Dharma, TIFF documentary programmer Thom Powers wrote, "Errol Morris gives Bannon a documentary treatment comparable to his profiles of Donald Rumsfeld in The Unknown Known and Robert McNamara in The Fog of War. Morris has a flare for illustrating his political dialogues with eclectic imagery. With Bannon, the interview is set in a Quonset hut that resembles a set from the Gregory Peck World War II drama Twelve O'Clock High. Bannon and Morris reference that film along with works by John Ford, Stanley Kubrick, and Orson Welles."

Below are a selection of tweets about American Dharma.

Alissa Wilkinson: "American Dharma isn’t a dismantling of Bannon’s ideologies. It’s a portrait of delusion."

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

If you think shunning Bannon empowers you, think again. Trump is president.

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

Thank you, Morgan. I liked your Roger Stone documentary. https://t.co/IbfIxKGMw6

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

Hear, hear. The important thing to remember–– there is no such thing as redemption. You do bad things, and they remain bad things forever. https://t.co/BiOHINAFPp

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 27, 2019

The Unknown Known (my Rumsfeld movie) was criticized because unlike McNamara Rumsfeld was not remorseful. Yup. You make a film with the secretary of defense you have not the secretary of defense you want to have.

— errolmorris (@errolmorris) February 26, 2019