11th Annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival Announced July 22-30 In DC

From July 22 to 30, 2023, the 11th annual Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival will be held at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

ACORN 8 in association with the Justice Integrity Project are proud to announce the theme for the event is the “60th Anniversary of the JFK Assassination,” with films, speakers and panel presentations reflecting this idea, among others including films about whistleblowers, The First Amendment or that touch on such human rights issues as freedom of expression, women’s rights and discrimination.

“Whistleblowers pay a very high price for speaking truth to power and for having integrity,” says Co-Founder and Managing Director, Michael McCray. “Publishers win Pulitzers, books are bestsellers, but whistleblowers risk their lives and livelihood with nothing in return.”

“Democracies rely on Whistleblowers” said Marcel Reid, Co-Founder and Festival Director. “We are excited to partner with Cemboo and their innovative plaform with Amazon.”

“We are excited to recognize Abraham Bolden (African American) an important JFK Secret Service Agent turned whistleblower at this year’s Summit,” said this editor, Andrew Kreig, director of the Justice Integrity Project and co-host with Wayne Madsen of District Insiders, which provides a video of Bolden’s explosive revelations. These will be shown in special edition of District Insiders as part of the film festival on the morning of Sunday, July 30, with some of the material illustrated also in Bolden’s memoir, The Echo From Dealey Plaza.

McCray hopes the festival will continue to draw attention to whistleblowers, their powerful stories and their tremendous bravery.

Event schedules for this hybrid event and tickets are available via the Summit website here. The festival will be sponsored by Cemboo, a new platform which enables content owners to control, monetize and distribute their own digital media content. All panels and films will screen virtually through Cemboo. Event organizers are proud that the Whistleblower Summit is a pioneering use case for this exciting new distribution partner powered by Amazon.

“No more fattening frogs for snakes,” McCray says. “It’s time to take back our empowerment.”

Festival organizers are proud to present the event on Capitol Hill where attendees have been able to rub elbows with famous whistleblowers like Frank Serpico and Jeff Wigand or meet political leaders like Senator Charles Grassley or former House Representative and Jonestown survivor, Jackie Speier (D-CA).

See below for the Whistleblower Summit schedule at a glance:

• Saturday, July 22 – Opening Night / Film Festival
• Sunday, July 23 – Film Festival Screenings
• Monday, July 24 – Office of Whistleblower Ombuds (House Staff Event Only) Tuesday, July 25 – Film Festival Screenings
• Wednesday, July 26 – Film Festival Screenings
• Thursday, July 27 – National Whistleblower Day Luncheon (NWC Independent Event)
• Friday, July 28 – Capital Hill / In-Person Panels and Busboys & Poets (Book Signing)
• Saturday, July 29 — Film Festival Screenings
• Sunday, July 30 – National Press Club

Contact the author Andrew Kreig