A Canadian documentary crew that plans to shoot part of a film in Liberty on Sunday is asking residents to meet at the courthouse at 2 p.m. for a town portrait.
But those who show may find a conversation waiting for them, too.
The film’s focus is on what liberty means in the United States.
“It’s not that Canadians find Americans confounding,” said Janet Torge, associate producer of the film, which is being produced by Alan Handel Productions Inc. “It’s that our media a lot of times just give us the black-and-white picture without telling us the story on the ground.”
With 208 towns and villages around the country using Liberty as a community name, producers hope visiting “Liberty, U.S.A.” and asking about the concept will better illustrate the Americans’ definition of it.
“While everybody loves liberty, not everyone can agree about just what it means,” said the film’s Web site, www.handelproductions.ca. “What are the rules and the limits of liberty? How far does tolerance go? How do Americans actually live liberty?”
The questions reveal a variety of answers.
“The towns are all quite different, completely different actually,” said Torge. “In Liberty Township, Ohio, they’ve got a big problem with illegal immigration and how it’s affecting the construction industry.
“In Liberty City, Fla., public housing is being taken down and not put back up, creating more and more homeless in that area.”
Mississippi’s Liberty has a story to tell about elections and public school funding, Torge said.
Amite County voters overwhelming rejected the proposed $13.2 million bond issue for the county’s school district — 3,501 votes against to 342 in favor of the measure.
While much of the research already has been completed, election footage will be shot during Tuesday’s general election, which does not involve the bond issue that was decided Sept. 25.
“What we’re doing in Liberty is…going into the public school and talking to students about the bond issue, seeing the mayor in town during the election, filming people voting,” Torge said.
The film is directed by John Zaritsky, who won an Oscar in 1983 for a film on the disappearance of a 19-year old Ottawa, Canada, student. “Liberty, U.S.A.” will debut July 4, 2008, in Canada, with a later release date expected in the United States.
