When Sicko was programmed, director Michael Moore planned to attend the Festival and personally introduce the film. Sadly, family obligations meant his trip to London had to be cancelled. He sent the following letter, which Festival Artistic Director Sandra Hebron read on his behalf.
Please accept my sincerest apologies for not being able to be there
tonight. All through the making of the film, I looked forward to this
evening, to be able to sit there in Leichester Sqaure with you as you
watched an American other than Mr. Bush fawn all over the Brits.
Sadly, family obligations yesterday forced me to cancel my trip to
London, and I am very, very sorry about this.
I do hope you enjoy this movie. It has already had quite an impact in
the U.S. And I hope it acts as a warning to you NOT to go down the
American road of privitization and profit when it comes to health care.
Your wonderful NHS (pause) - yes, go ahead and snicker and hiss and boo
- but you are only hissing at what the NHS has become, not the NHS as
it was originally conceived. The founders of the NHS had a radical
notion that said EVERYONE has a right to receive medical attention when
they get sick and no one should have to worry about whether they can pay
for it. You collectively decided that health care was a human right. No
one hisses at that. You are hissing at what Mrs. Thatcher did to try and
gut your system. And you are hissing at yourselves for letting her and
subsequent leaders get away with it. Say what you will about what needs
to be fixed with the NHS - and I do realize it needs some serious fixing
- but no Brit has ever lost their home because they couldn't pay a
hospital bill. Imagine British hospitals and doctors being able to go to
the courts and get them to foreclose on your home just so they can get
paid and post a profit! You wouldn't allow it, would you? I would think
there'd be riots in the streets.
Well, medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the United
States and the #1 cause of homelessness. Think about that next time you
hear "new" Labor wanting to turnover parts of your system to private
insurance. "Let's be like the Americans!!" Really? Perhaps you should
think that over. Oh, and Mr. Brown, if you happen to be present
tonight... We're waaaaiiiting! What the fuck is taking you so long?
Surely you're not going to end up in the joke bin of history like your
predecessor? Bring the troops home now and raise the taxes on the rich
to pay for reparations to the Iraqi people for the next dozen years for
all the misery you've caused them. Did I say "you?" Yes, I did. I
consider your party and Mr. Blair MORE responsible for this war than Mr.
Bush. That's right, he's an idiot and doesn't know any better. You, on
the other hand, DO know better. It was your job to stop him, not enable
him. You handed the keys to a drunk driver. History will impose on you a
most significant shame.
But hey, we're here to have fun tonight! To watch Americans die because
they don't have health insurance! Enough of politics! Thanks so much to
all the Brits who helped me with this film - many of them are in the
audience tonight. And a special thanks to the moral conscience of this
movie, Tony Benn. Tony, please stand and be recognized. We have no Tony
Benn in the U.S. I hope you are all grateful for your national treasure,
your Don Quixote. We need more Tony Benns during these dark times.
Again, thank you for coming tonight and thank you for all you have given
America - the poetry of your language, the enlightment of your culture,
and Victoria Beckham.
Enjoy the show!
Michael Moore