Steal This Story, Please! - Co-director Tia Lessin (Carl Deal)

Undeterred by armed soldiers, smooth-talking politicians, and riot police, journalist Amy Goodman has reported some of the most consequential stories of our time. Steal This Story, Please! is a gripping portrait of the trailblazer whose unwavering commitment to truth-telling spans three decades of turbulent history. From the frontlines of global conflicts to the organized chaos of her daily news show Democracy Now!, Goodman broadcasts stories and voices routinely silenced by commercial media. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water, The Janes) take us behind the scenes with the warm, wisecracking granddaughter of an Orthodox rabbi — raised in a tradition of asking hard questions – as she navigates a news landscape reshaped by technology, corporate consolidation, and political assaults on truth itself. Urgent, provocative and unexpectedly funny, Steal This Story, Please! is both a call to action and a celebration of resistance, posing the question: what happens to democracy when the press surrenders to power?

About the filmmakers - TIA LESSIN and CARL DEAL are award-winning filmmakers and collaborators. They made the critically acclaimed feature documentary, TROUBLE THE WATER, about survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Gotham Independent Film Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize. Their second feature, CITIZEN KOCH documenting the origins of the MAGA movement premiered in competition at Sundance and was shortlisted for an Oscar. Most recently, Lessin directed THE JANES, a film about the underground abortion service in 1960s Chicago, for HBO Original Documentaries, along with Emma Pildes. After its premiere in competition at Sundance, THE JANES won three Emmy Awards (Outstanding Documentary, Best Social Issue Documentary, and Best Directors), the DuPont Columbia Journalism Award, and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2023. Lessin and Deal’s first film collaborations together were on Academy Award®-winning BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and FAHRENHEIT 9/11, winner of the Palme d'Or (she as supervising producer, he as archival producer). They went on to produce Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, and FAHRENHEIT 11/9.