Better This World

The documentary tells the story of two young friends from Midland, Texas: Bradley Crowder and David McKay. The two attach themselves to an activist named Brandon Darby and, following his lead, begin preparing actions against the Republican convention of 2008. They are arrested during the convention and heavy charges are brought against them. It later comes out that Darby had been reporting to the FBI. The argument at the centre of the case is this: did the young men act on their own, or were they drawn into it. The film presents Darby as someone who used them; that assessment is the documentary’s own. The account also asks about the limits of the justice system and of the use of informants. The eighty nine minute American documentary by Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway was completed in 2011.