ONE BRIGHT SHINING MOMENT: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern

One Bright Shining Moment retraces George McGovern's bold presidential campaign of 1972 - a grassroots campaign that fought for peace and justice…a campaign that positioned ideas and people first...and, for a myriad of reasons, a campaign that was crushed in workmanlike fashion by the Butcher from Whittier, Richard Nixon. The tragedy of the '72 campaign is this: George McGovern might have been the only candidate in our modern era to run for President who truly understood what an incredible monument America could be to the human race. Without a doubt he was the most honest.

This film poses this central thought: the ultimate political defeat of the American Century may also be its high watermark. And if so, what does that say about the electoral process, the American government, and more importantly, what does it say about the forces at work on the American people – then and now?

Featured in One Bright Shining Moment are an assortment of historians, activists, and firsthand POVs – from the candidate himself to foot soldiers in the McGovern Army: George McGovern, Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Warren Beatty, Dick Gregory, Gary Hart, Frank Mankiewicz, Howard Zinn, Jim Bouton, Sen. Jim Abourezk, Rev. Malcolm Boyd and Ron Kovic, among others.

Narration is by Amy Goodman – host of Pacifica Network’s Democracy Now! and author of the current bestseller The Exception To The Rulers. In addition to an original music score and traditional folk ballads, the story incorporates songs from Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Donovan, and Elvis Costello.

One Bright Shining Moment is Stephen Vittoria’s fourth feature film. His previous films include Black & White (1987), Hollywood Boulevard (1995), and the six-hour health documentary Save Your Life: The Life and Holistic Times of Dr. Richard Schulze (1998). Last year he completed work writing, directing, and editing the documentary feature Keeper of the Flame with Linda Ellerbee, Wilford Brimley, and Professor Stephen Pyne – a film that deals with the current ecological crisis facing American forests. Short films include the drama Easter and the documentary short Marcel Dionne: Stuck Inside of LA With Those Hockey Blues Again. Vittoria is the founder and creative director of two Southern California production companies, Deep Image & Street Legal Cinema.

"Of the many political documentaries that have recently emerged, ONE BRIGHT SHINING MOMENT resounds perhaps more strongly than any other." - Variety

“The portrait of this honest, idealistic man driven by a sincere wish to help his country will make you weep for our current political state.” - IFC