CSNY Déjà Vu (2008)

Directed by Bernard Shakey (Neil Young)
NR, 96 minutes, 35mm print
Co-writer Mike Cerre (ND '69) will be present

CSNY Déjà Vu, is a look back at the politics and anti–Vietnam War sentiment in the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. As both a portrait of a band and an examination of artistic process, CSNY Déjà Vu is filmmaking that is self-centered, yet fresh and critical. Today’s generation must be as tired of hearing about the ’60s as we were of an earlier era, and this depiction of the tour is anything but preaching to the converted. Part performance, part commentary, and very much a call for activism, CSNY Déjà Vu is relevant because we ignore the lessons of history at our peril. The film's real value lies in its rejection of simple nostalgia and its ability to focus on the present day.

Featuring music from Neil Young’s controversial Living with War CD, this evocative and edgy film documents reactions from fans to a band that has remained committed to issues of politics and art for more than four decades. Since history seems to repeat itself, perhaps our artists best illustrate what we need to remember.
-SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

These screenings are sponsored by the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the Department of Political Science.

Bernard Shakey biography
Bernard Shakey is the autocratic Svengali behind a series of films featuring Neil Young, including Greendale (2003), Human Highway (1982), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), and Journey through the Past (1974). His company's name, Shakey Pictures, provides an apt description of the relationship between the director and Young.

Mike Cerre biography
Mike Cerre is an award winning broadcast journalist, filmmaker and communications consultant who started GLOBE TV in 1985. His clients include the major television networks, multinational corporations and new media companies around the world.

From his Emmy Award reporting for ABC News as an embedded journalist during the Iraq War to dispatching the world’s top photojournalists on a global assignment documenting the impact of the microchip on everyday life on the planet, Mike’s passion for global “storytelling” has produced a variety of unforgettable stories and engaging projects for conveying timely information and strategic branding.

Starting as a news anchorman/reporter for San Francisco’s NBC affiliate and a National Correspondent for ABC Good Morning America, Mike earned four Emmy Awards in New York and San Francisco for his reportage, plus the prestigious Peabody Award and Cable Ace Awards for his documentary productions.

He went international by licensing the television rights to GEO Magazine from Bertelsmann in Germany and producing the first global television magazine specials for the NBC stations and The Discovery Channel. They evolved into the GLOBE Tv series co-produced with ABC, which aired on A&E and foreign networks in thirty countries.

During the information technology revolution of the nineties, he used his global consortium of producers and videographers to help major technology companies communicate their global strategies. He developed and produced the weekly SCAN series on CNBC for IBM’s Solutions for a Small Planet campaign and was the Editorial Director and Executive Producer for the One Digital Day book, FORTUNE cover story and CNN Special celebrating Intel’s thirtieth anniversary.

Mike made the transition to the internet programming by producing EXCAPE, an online and real world scavenger hunt for the Excite web portal with the creator of the best-selling Where in the World is Carmen San Diego CD-ROM. It launched his new media business which was acquired by Netcentives in 1999.

As a result of his various communications projects he has been invited to present his work at the World Economic Forum, UN Foundation, World Affairs Council, Milken Institute, Stanford Publishing Course and the American University in Paris & Cairo.

Mike is also a 1969 Notre Dame graduate with a BA in Communication Arts.