[Mark Rabinowitz] An emotionally mixed collection of links today, going from the heady stuff of local and international arrests to TFF previews and a DNC Doc from Schnack et. al.

Filmmaker Andrew Berends Arrested In Nigeria, Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested in St. Paul
AP and many other outlets are reporting that New York doc maker Andrew Berends has been arrested in Nigeria and "was held for 36 hours before being accused of spying and temporarily released." His passport was confiscated. According to the New York Times, Berends is hardly the first journalist to be arrested in Nigeria in recent times. "In April, four members of a Seattle-based film crew were arrested while filming in the Delta and held for six days on spying charges," reported the Times, continuing, "In May, a CNN journalist was detained while in the main Delta city of Port Harcourt and questioned by the S.S.S. for five days before being released." A blog has been set up to keep folks up to date on Berends' situation.

So as not to get on too high of an American free speaking horse, I'd like to point out (to paraphrase) It can happen here. Amy Goodman of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now and two of her producers were arrested by riot police in Minneapolis, yesterday. They have since been released, but still face charges. Apparently other journos and filmmakers have received similar treatment. The videos of two of the arrests are below and they're pretty terrifying.

Nicole Salazar:

Amy Goodman:

More TIFF Doc Picks
Over at the TIFF doc blog, Thom Powers has added TIFF Doc Picks from SXSW honcho Janet Pierson (sorry I'm gonna miss you up North, Janet!), Time Out New York's Joshua Rothkopf, Allovertheplace's Anthony Kaufman, Hamptons International Film Festival's David Nugent and HotDocs' Sean Farnel. Thanks for using the title of my dad's book in your write up, Tony!

And the answer is, Denver!
Like you didn't know! Last week I asked "Where's AJ Schnack" and, well, he answered, here and posted a followup on his DNC (and Branson, MO) experience here.