With so many filmmakers, organizations and everyday bloggers creating video, Netroots Nation is delighted to offer a screening showcase that will feature short segments of the diverse work created by, distributed through and appealing to the Netroots. This showcase will present 5-10 film projects, giving each filmmaker up to 15 minutes minutes to show a clip, discuss the project, ask for feedback / help / connections. Kick off the Screening Series by meeting and engaging fellow filmmakers, and seeing a wide array of what's being worked on by whom, so you can continue the conversations throughout the conference.

Dirt! The Movie brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It tells the story of Earth's most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility--from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.

A Sea Change asks viewers to imagine a world without fish. The film rings an alarm bell, revealing the startling impact of ocean acidification not only on aquatic wildlife, but the intertwined global ecosystem as we know it.

Earth Days looks back to the dawn of the modern environmental movement—from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary Silent Spring to the wildly successful first Earth Day celebrations of the 1970s.

“The Politiical Prosecutions of Karl Rove,” a compelling video by Project Save Justice and John McTiernan, whose film credits include “Die Hard,” “Predator,” and “The Hunt for Red October,” features experts who say that hundreds of defendants across the nation were targeted by federal prosecutors who focused on particular defendants for political reasons. Inlcuded are interviews of victims and their families who suffered at the hands of the Bush Department of Justice, the payoffs recieved by federal operatives, and highlights of those political prisoners still being held in US Federal Prison Camps.

"Free The River Park - The Story of Citizens' Fight to Free the
Schuylkill River Park" This mini documentary explores a neighborhood's ultimately victorious efforts to create and preserve at grade access to the Schuykill River Park despite the adamant objections of the CSX Railroad. The film tells the inspiring story of the Philadelphia community 'winning over' the railroad through interviews with key elected officials and citizen activists. Winner of the "best green film" award at the Delray Beach Film Festival, it has been shown at film festivals across the country. With an array of extras, the Free the River Park DVD is designed to be used as a template for inspiring and instructing other communities on how to use new media technologies and network centric strategies to win. See the trailer at www.freetheriverpark.org

Some of the big economic policy fights that loom on the horizon—including domestic recovery, global trade, banking and health care—turn on issues that can be tough to blog about without narrowing interest to a small band of hardy policy wonks. How can we crystallize the debate and explain what's at stake without getting hung up on paralyzing jargon? And how can we defuse the negative associations with words like "deficits," "protectionism," "nationalization" and "government-run health care" that currently help special interests and obstructionists misframe the debate? This panel also offers an opportunity for attendees to clear up confusion about complicated policy details, giving us all the ability to make strong policy arguments.

The current economic crisis makes clear the failures of the “Chicago School” of free market fundamentalism but has not yet illuminated another path forward—one that combines a concern for equity with a desire for growth and one that understands the role of government as not just facilitating markets but regulating them as well. Building on the work of the Roosevelt's Institute's website, NewDeal 2.0 (www.newdeal20.org), the goal of this panel is to further define the principles that should guide a new New Deal. Panelists will serve as a resource for attendees (and those who wish to follow along at home via Twitter), addressing their in-depth questions about the origins and manifestations of our current economic situation. Then, we’ll discuss new ideas for how we should be rebuilding the country's economic architecture in the wake of the crisis.

In his book “The Myth of Digital Democracy,” Matthew Hindman “debunks popular notions about political discourse in the digital age, revealing how the Internet has neither diminished the audience share of corporate media nor given greater voice to ordinary citizens.” This panel will use Hindman’s argument as a starting point, addressing the question of whether or not online political and social organizing is indeed reaching under-represented communities, such as young people in inner-cities and rural areas. Do online organizing sites work with and reach a diverse group of members, especially in terms of age, race, education level and economic background? Who is being left out of the conversation? Looking forward, what steps do we need to take to make sure these communities are incorporated into the discussion so they can be empowered both socially and politically?

Join NDN President Simon Rosenberg and film makers Annabel Park and Eric Byler for a special screening of 9500 Liberty, a new film that examines the political intrigue and socio-economic impacts of one of the most infamous immigration battles ever conducted at the local level, which led to a virtual grassroots network of activists on both sides of the issue.

In July 2007, Prince William County, VA became ground zero in America's explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopted a local ordinance requiring police officers to question individuals that they considered to be "probably" undocumented. In the battleground county of a key battleground state, the "Immigration Resolution" became the central issue in a local election held one year before the 2008 Presidential Election.

Because it is likely that immigration legislation will be introduced this fall, this film –scheduled to premiere on October 1st - will provide an invaluable tool for moderates and progressives on this issue through unprecedented access to the inner workings of the anti-immigrant lobby and its strategic approach to electoral politics. The film also reveals the social and economic fallout when local governments resort to harsh immigration enforcement measures.

"9500 Liberty makes it clear that when we, as a nation of immigrants, debate the immigration issue, we are defining our very identity as Americans." - John Grisham

This panel is not about the housing, labor and capital markets, but rather a selection of other issues that face voters and families that we feel should be added to the legislative agenda.

With that in mind, we will be holding a live lobby session, to address how local businesses, community organizations and households are scrambling to find the resources to meet their day-to-day needs.

We will be focusing on credit issues, community services, consumer advocacy (especially food products) and schools that could and should be added to a progressive economics agenda.

We will also ensure time for audience participation, because we aren't just passing out information. This is a competition for scarce legislative attention. That's right. We'll be deciding which of these action items - one of ours, perhaps one of yours - which should be placed on the next session agenda.

President Obama came to office promising “the millennium development goals will be America’s goals.” But the global economic crisis now threatens to undermine those goals. Gains in the fight against global poverty and hunger have begun to stall or even reverse. What can the Obama administration do to reinvigorate the fight against global poverty? How can advocates most effectively make the case that meeting the needs of the global poor ought to be American foreign policy goals? What policies best work for addressing global poverty?

These questions and more will be discussed in an interactive panel discussion with Gayle Smith, Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for global development, democracy, stabilization and humanitarian assistance issues at the National Security Council; Ray Offenheiser, President of Oxfam-America; Anita Sharma, North American coordinator for the United Nations Millennium Campaign; Matthew Yglesias, fellow of the Center for American Progress and moderated by Mark Leon Goldberg of the global affairs blog, UN Dispatch.

As we in the Netroots have seen, electing more Democrats is only the first step to making change happen. Even with the opportunities presented by a Democratic President and Democrats in charge of both branches of Congress, the pace and content of policy change has been frustrating to many. But why? How is the sausage actually being made, and how are Netroots candidates working in Washington to turn the tide?

We are being joined for this candid session by three Democratic members of Congress in their first and second terms, each of whom was elected from purple districts with strong Netroots support, to talk about what it's like once the elections are over and it's time to turn campaign promises into policy solutions.

Rep. Alan Grayson was elected to represent Florida's 8th Congressional District for the first time in 2008. A member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Grayson has made many headlines as as a member of the House Financial Services Committee in seeking accountability from the Federal Reserve Board and major financial players from their response to our economic crisis.

Rep. Patrick Murphy is now in his second term representing Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District. The first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress, Murphy now leads the fight in the House to repeal the military's Don't Act Don't Tell policy, and serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees.

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter is now in her second term representing New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. A former social worker, Shea-Porter has been fighting for clean energy and Medicare for All, and sits on the Armed Services, Natural Resources, and Education and Labor Committees.

The session will be moderated by David Waldman (Kagro X), Editor-in-Chief of Congress Matters and a contributing editor at Daily Kos.

Rural America has become increasingly critical to the electoral success of the Democratic Party, and is poised to become an important beneficiary of Administration initiatives in agriculture, broadband, clean energy, education, health care, infrastructure and more. But success in these arenas involves overcoming an array of challenges that commonly characterize organizing in rural settings.

This panel will examine different types of organizing – community, advocacy/issues, electoral/political, legislative/policy – and explore the challenges involved in organizing for these purposes in rural regions. We will consider geographic, logistical, cultural and economic obstacles, and will explore commonalities with organizing in exurban/suburban/urban settings, current best practices, failures and successes, emerging techniques and tools, etc. Particular attention will be paid to organizing among rural Hispanics/Latinos, as well as in other communities of color, including Indian Country.

This panel will be appropriate for anyone interested in rural issues and revitalization; candidates, campaign staff and political volunteers in rural districts/states; community activists and organizers, non-profit staff and volunteers, etc. Audience participation will be welcomed and resources for further reference will be suggested.

Shortly after President Obama took office, he remarked, "We need new rules of the road for the 21st century economy, together with the means and willingness to enforce them." But in today's world, economic solutions must include more than just bailouts and regulations.

As our leaders push to solve our country's financial crisis, how can we maintain confidence in the economy while protecting the interests of the middle class? What are some of the pivotal policy decisions that are being made now, and what will a "21st century economy" look like? And how can we as progressives help for progressive change in areas such as health care and workers' rights?

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Change to Win Chair Anna Burger and economist Dean Baker will join us in Pittsburgh for a discussion about the economy and how it affects working Americans. The panel will be moderated by Kevin Drum of Mother Jones.

While statistical evidence has consistently identified the failed federal response to Katrina as the watershed event contributing to the decline of the Bush administration's approval ratings, progressives and the netroots have largely abandoned the cause of New Orleans as a political and moral issue. The Left has a responsibility to see to it that New Orleans survives and thrives, for the sustainable recovery of this city will be the primary measure used for determining whether the netroots indeed represent a substantive movement concerned with the betterment of American communities or just another vessel for cyclical change in partisan fortunes. As it stands, New Orleans is on the brink. Rates of crime, illiteracy, poverty, imprisonment and life expectancy too closely resemble those of developing nations. Political power remains ensconced in the hands of economic and tribal elites. Basic retention of the population that has been able to return is as pressing a challenge as bringing home the tens of thousands who remain displaced almost four years after the levees failed.

California is the nation's largest state, and is often seen as a bellweather for economic and social change. However, the peculiar dynamic of state government institutions has threatened that role, as the state has slipped into an almost perpetual crisis mode. Despite an overwhelming majority of progressive lawmakers in the state legislature, the two-thirds rule for passing a budget and tax increases, among other issues, handcuffs them and empowers a radical conservative minority. Thirty years of short-term fixes and failed leadership have only exacerbated the problem and put the state—and the nation—in real danger. As Paul Krugman recently said, "Years of neglect, followed by economic disaster—and with all reasonable responses blocked by a fanatical, irrational minority ... This could be America next." In this session, we will look at the reasons for California's budget tangle, the larger implications for the progressive movement at large, and what some organizations are doing to change these outdated rules and take back state government for the people.

This panel will discuss the opportunities and risks of the current economic and social environment. Will Obama seize the opportunity to restore elements of the New Deal, or will the oligarchs use shock to strengthen their position of control?

This panel will discuss police abuse, racial profiling in stop-and-frisks, the Rockefeller drug laws and mandatory sentencing, immigration sweeps and detention, and opportunities for organizing online and offline. What, if any, steps has the Obama administration taken to address these problems, and what legislative and economic actions should our government take? How do the issues intersect in their effect on people of color? What political, legislative and organizing opportunities are there to challenge these policies?