signed consent to be included in the film. With the aiding representation of attorney Patrick Shea, Anderson’s attempts to remove himself from the film proved unsuccessful. Greenstreet defended using Anderson in the film, “without the personal interview that I did with him, he doesn't get a chance to explain his motivation.” Release On February 5, 2005, the eighty-eight-minute final product premiered at UVSC's Ragan Theater, receiving a standing ovation from the 700 people overflowing the Theater's 400-seat capacity. On the heels of the sold-out premiere, the filmmakers commenced a publicity blitz to any magazine, newspaper, or film studio that would take their call. Without previous experience, the filmmakers had to quickly learn how to produce their own press kits and market their movie with a team of only four people and minimal resources. Their first big break occurred when Campus Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress, sponsored a tour of the film as part of its "Reel Progress" series. The film went on to screen at twenty-three college campuses, including Yale, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and the University of Southern California. With Greenstreet on the road for months at a time, his colleagues continued to promote their film in any way possible, arranging a self-distributed theatrical release. Not having money to transfer the film to 35mm screening prints, they simply projected the film digitally from a DVD-R disc. The film went on to play theatrically in more than twenty major U.S. cities, before being released in North America on DVD on September 27, 2005, by The Disinformation Company. Reception This Divided State has an approval rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes from 24 reviews counted. The New York Times called it "filmmaking gold" and "extremely moving." Variety found the film “as boisterous as it is sobering,” while Deseret News claimed it is “surprisingly cohesive and coherent and it does its best to tell all sides of the story.” Orlando Sentinel further posits, “This Divided State shows the power of the newer, cheaper video documentary in all its glory.” External links Official Website of Director This Divided State on IMDb Reviews Variety The New York Times Deseret News The Village Voice Christian Science Monitor eFilm Critic The A.V. Club TV Guide Orlando Sentinel References 2005 films American documentary films American independent films Documentary films about American politics 2005 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films