FILM SCREENINGS

Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel

2010. Canada. Directed by Brigitte Berman. With Hugh Hefner, Gene Simmons, Mike Wallace, Reverend Jesse Jackson. The film, whose title says it all, argues that Hefner not only rebelled against pervasive social norms when he self-financed the first issues of Playboy, but also took an active role in the fight for racial integration and abortion rights. Berman, who has made many documentaries for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, won a 1986 Academy Award for Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got. 124 min.