The HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production: Propaganda, Slander, Omission, Shame, Lies, Melodrama, and Racism

Today I’m going to write my last post regarding this shameful false accusation against icon writer and cinema director Woody Allen. My post will not appear in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, not even The Guardian, but I’m a huge Woody Allen fan, a woman, a mother of three wonderful children, a musician and a PhD candidate (Philosophy), and I also have something to say. I’m sick and tired of seeing a wonderful and innocent man like Woody being insulted, wrongly judged and slandered. I’m furious at the herd, the bullies and the stupidity of the majority. Furthermore, I’m so tired of the fact that the name of Woody Allen is now almost always linked to the Farrow clan. On one side we have a wonderful genius who creates beauty and masterpieces, and, on the other side, we have a pitiful-non-talented clan that destroys and slanders. Enough with that.

Woody is a genius who has written the most beautiful roles for women, has brought to the world the most brilliant movies filled with poetry, philosophy, laughter, sadness, and beauty, and has given to millions of fans all around the world joy with his art: his amazing masterpieces, his terrific books, and his wonderful New Orleans Jazz. But Woody is not only a genius, he’s also a human being with feelings, a loving husband to his wife Soon-Yi (29 years together, 24 years married, and still going strong), and a loving father (Soon-Yi and Woody have two adopted beautiful and bright daughters: Bechet, 22, and Manzie, 21, who adore their parents). Woody is made of blood and flesh, like you and me, has never committed any crime and has been slandered heavily since 2018, and for many years before. So, this insanity stops now.

Of course, the fact that the world has become crazy and that legal justice seems to be irrelevant today, and that personal affairs are now “solved” on Twitter, one-sided magazines and shameful garbage productions instead of in court, doesn’t help. The last spit on sanity, common sense, justice and human dignity is the recent HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow garbage production that turns a vengeful insane woman (Mia Farrow) into a saint and an innocent and brilliant man (Woody) into the devil. This HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production should win a Guinness World of Records award for the most manipulated, untruthful, racist, slamming and shameful “documentary” ever. Goebbels would probably have loved it.

The world has gone nuts (again), and the Dreyfus affair, the lynchings of African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th century, even the Holocaust, and the McCarthyism inevitably come to my mind when TV shows like the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production are being aired. How is it possible to even make a TV show on a false accusation that was proven false almost 30 years ago? Is that possible thanks to the general stupidity of the American public? Or to the stupidity of the majority of the human population? Woody says in Hollywood Ending: “You mean why the country got so stupid suddenly? My theory is fast food”.

What strikes me is the huge fear that (good) journalists seem to have to openly declare that the whole “case” against Woody is a prefabricated lie meticulously prepared by the Farrow clan. At best, you get some articles denouncing the one-sided approach that the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production has, but that’s not it. The whole production is based on a non-event. And that should be said out loud. Why are people in the US so afraid of saying out loud that Woody has been falsely accused? Woody is a victim of a false accusation. And that’s a crime. If you believe a false victim, you are accusing an innocent man. And to accuse an innocent man is a crime. Period.

One of the very few brave (American) people who have openly defended Woody is the great Bob Weide (Woody Allen’s fans new hero). You can read here his brilliant posts The Truth About Woody Allen, Part I (April 8, 2019), and The Truth About Woody Allen, Part II (April 8, 2019), and his article The Woody Allen Allegations: Not So Fast (from 2014, updated 2017). Bob has also written about the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production in his great post The Mia/Woody HBO Documentary–What to Watch for (February 7, 2021) and about the case of the mysterious train in his brilliant post Farrow v. Farrow: The Case of the Magical, Disappearing Electric Toy Train Set (February 28, 2021). Other famous voices that have supported Woody (American and non-American) have been, so far, Alec Baldwin, Diane Keaton, Javier Bardem, Scarlet Johansson, Anjelica Huston, Dianne Wiest, Léa Seydoux, Wallace Shawn, Larry David, Cherry Jones, Joy Behar, Gina Gershon, Elena Anaya, Jeff Goldblum, Antonio Banderas, Alan Alda, Cate Blanchett, Alessandra Mastronardi, Blake Lively, Emily Mortimer, Charlotte Rampling, Caroline Aaron, Isabelle Huppert. Lots of women. Still, the voices are timid, not loud. Everybody fears being lynched. I wonder why.

Coming back to the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production, I think that, if you decide to go with the charade, then at least make it balanced. Open the theater, but for everybody. Talk about everything. Don’t condemn Woody’s love for Soon-Yi (a true love that has defeated all the criticisms of the puritan minds: almost three decades together and still going strong), and leave out Mia Farrow’s affairs with Sinatra and Previn. Don’t talk about “inappropriate” behavior (Americans love that word: “inappropriate”) from Woody and leave out the fact that Mia Farrow slept with her biological (Sinatra’s?) son Ronan until he was 11 years old (ahem, ahem). Don’t talk about the great mommy that Mia Farrow was and leave out the tragedies of many of her adopted children. Let’s not forget that Mia Farrow has/had 4 biological children and 10 adopted children. From the 10 adopted children, it’s important to remember that two of them (Tam and Thaddeus Farrow) sadly committed suicide (Tam died from a pill overdose and Thaddeus shot himself in the torso). Another of Mia Farrow’s adoptive daughters (Lark Previn) sadly died of AIDS alone and in poverty at age 35. These are three tragedies that neither the Farrow clan nor the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production have mentioned. Then, don’t use 4 episodes inflating a false accusation against Woody and leave out Mia Farrow’s own brother’s pedophilia. Yes, you are reading it correctly: Mia Farrow’s own brother (John Villers-Farrow) was sentenced in 2013 to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys over a period of 8 years. That’s explosive news, and, nevertheless, very few people know about this. Again, neither the Farrow clan nor the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production have condemned John Villers-Farrow’s pedophilia.

Then, do you want to talk about child abuse, HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production? Great. Let’s talk about child abuse. Let’s talk about the abuse that Moses, Soon-Yi and other adopted children suffered at the hands of Mia Farrow. Did you know that Mia Farrow used to beat, lock and drag down a flight of stairs some of her adopted children? These abuses have been completely silenced by the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production. Let’s now hear Soon-Yi and Moses:

Soon-Yi said in 1992 (in 1992! But nobody, absolutely nobody, cared):

“Mia was always very hot-tempered and given to rages which terrified all the kids. They can’t speak freely because they’re still dependent on her. But they could really tell stories and I’m sure one day will. It’s true Mia was violent with me and I have conclusive proof”. (Soon-Yi Speaks: ‘Let’s Not Get Hysterical’, 1992)

In 2018, Soon-Yi said: “Mia was never kind to me, never civil”. (Introducing Soon-Yi Previn)

In Moses’ famous post of May 23, 2018, A Son Speaks Out (conveniently omitted in the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production), Moses writes:

“I’m a very private person and not at all interested in public attention. But, given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit“.

“Mia had adopted me, her seventh child, as a single parent in 1980. In 1992 she successfully petitioned to allow Woody to co-adopt both Dylan and me, writing to the adoption agency, detailing what an excellent father he was (…) I never once saw anything that indicated inappropriate behavior at any time“.

“It was important to my mother to project to the world a picture of a happy blended household of both biological and adopted children, but this was far from the truth”.

“It pains me to recall instances in which I witnessed siblings, some blind or physically disabled, dragged down a flight of stairs to be thrown into a bedroom or a closet, then having the door locked from the outside. She even shut my brother Thaddeus, paraplegic from polio, in an outdoor shed overnight as punishment for a minor transgression.”

“Soon-Yi was her most frequent scapegoat (…) When Soon-Yi was young, Mia once threw a large porcelain centerpiece at her head. Luckily it missed, but the shattered pieces hit her legs. Years later, Mia beat her with a telephone receiver. Soon-Yi’s made it clear that her desire was simply to be left alone, which increasingly became the case. Even if her relationship with Woody was unconventional, it allowed her to escape. Others weren’t so lucky.”

“The summer between first and second grades… my mother came over to my bed and found a tape measure. She gave me a piercing look that stopped me in my tracks and asked if I had taken it, as she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen. She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn’t know, that perhaps a workman had left it there. She asked again and again and again. When I didn’t give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing – in essence, brainwashing. I became anxious and fearful“.

“Once, when I was given a new pair of jeans, I thought they would look cool if I cut off a couple of the belt loops. When Mia saw what I had done, she spanked me repeatedly and had me remove all my clothing, saying, “You’re not deserving of any clothes” and making me stand naked in the corner of her room, in front of my older siblings (…) In short, it was not a happy home – or a healthy one“. (Moses Farrow, A Son Speaks Out).

In these two videos Moses recalls being humiliated and abused by Mia Farrow:

Moses has reconnected with Woody Allen, and is estranged by the whole Farrow clan. In 2014 Dylan Farrow said (or tweeted?): “My brother is dead to me”. How nice.

Woody’s “case” is more clear than water. Woody was cleared in 1993 by two investigation teams. After a 14-month-old investigation, the New York State child welfare investigators dropped their inquiry saying they considered the accusation against him unfounded stating: “No credible evidence was found that the child named in this report has been abused or maltreated”. The doctor who headed the Connecticut investigation in 1993, Dr. John M. Leventhal, saw strong inconsistencies in Dylan Farrow’s statement and concluded that Dylan either invented the story or that this fantasy was planted in Dylan’s mind by her mother: “We had two hypotheses: one, that these were statements that were made by an emotionally disturbed child and then became fixed in her mind. And the other hypothesis was that she was coached or influenced by her mother. We did not come to a firm conclusion. We think that it was probably a combination.” The Yale-New Haven Hospital’s Child Sexual Abuse Clinic Evaluation of Dylan Farrow concluded that Dylan was not sexually abused: “It is our expert opinion that Dylan was not sexually abused by Mr. Allen”. Also, another fact that the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production “forgets” to mention is that Woody voluntary took and passed a lie detector proof in 1992, while Mia Farrow declined to have one. Case closed!

But the show goes on. The lie goes on. Why? Because when the investigations cleared Woody and stated that no abuse has ever occurred, Mia Farrow, instead of being happy for her adoptive daughter’s mental health, continued her eternal crusade against Woody (until today!). A crusade that has been happily taken over by the now-adult-Dylan Farrow (who clearly enjoys the publicity, desperately needs the approval of Twitter and is delighted with the mistreatment of Woody), and by the now-adult-Ronan Farrow (Sinatra’s son?), who clearly takes enormous pleasure and effort in making Woody sink.

But, what’s the real reason behind this false accusation? One of the strongest love stories ever. One of the bravest women on Earth: Soon-Yi. Woody’s biological daughter? Nope. Woody’s adopted daughter? Nope. Woody’s step-daughter? Nope. Soon-Yi is Woody’s wife for almost 3 decades. Who is Soon-Yi? Soon-Yi was born c. 1970 in Korea. She was adopted in 1977 by André Previn and Mia Farrow and brought to the United States. She’s, of course, American. In spite of the eternal denigration she suffered at the hands of Mia Farrow when she was little (Farrow used to call her retarded and stupid), she’s a highly intelligent and cultivated woman, speaks several languages, majored in Art from Drew University and earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Columbia University.

“I’m a psychology major at college who fell for a man who happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Mia. I admit it’s offbeat, but let’s not get hysterical. The tragedy here is that, because of Mia’s vindictiveness, the children must suffer.” (Soon-Yi Speaks: ‘Let’s Not Get Hysterical’, 1992)

You can read her story in this explosive interview by Daphne Merkin: Introducing Soon-Yi Previn. This honest and powerful interview was completely ignored by the media and the supporters of the Farrow clan when it appeared two and a half years ago, and has been completely silenced by the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production.

So, Mia Farrow can help make thousands of melodramatic garbage productions, she can invent thousands of false accusations, she can decide to destroy her adoptive children’s lives, but she will never be able to change the fact that Woody and Soon-Yi fell in love, love each other for 29 years, formed a beautiful family and are super happy together. In your face, Mia!

Now, there is another thing that the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production has shown. A terrible thing: racism. I personally hate to make distinctions by “race” or “ethnicity”, two words that inevitably remind me of the extermination of millions of Jewish men, women and children –ghettos, Einsatzgruppen and gas chambers (let’s not forget that the Holocaust happened only 80 years ago). There is nothing lower than racism and antisemitism. So, coming back to the Farrows: all the adopted children of Mia Farrow are/were (three are sadly dead) American, of course, in spite of where they were born. But some were born in the US and others outside the US. And now, a small parenthesis: I have three children (a 14-year-old daughter, a 12-year-old son, and a 7-year-old daughter –all huge Woody Allen fans) and I have always educated them against racism. When my youngest daughter saw the movie Il a déjà tes yeux (a French comedy where a Black-French couple adopts a White-French baby), she couldn’t see that there was something different with the baby (and my youngest daughter is gifted –so is my son and my oldest daughter). So, I smiled and felt very proud of myself as a mother for the education I gave my children against racism. The point of this parenthesis is that I don’t care at all where the adopted children of Mia Farrow were born, or from where their biological parents were. I don’t like to play the racism card, but apparently the Farrow clan and the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production give importance to the origin of these kids. Because, if not, how could such a scandalous unequal treatment (by both Mia Farrow and the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production) of Mia Farrow’s adopted children be possible? Some are heard; others silenced. Some enjoy privileges; others commit suicide. Some stay in the clan; others are estranged. Some are welcomed; others died alone in poverty. This horrid inequality has only one name: racism. Have you heard, Dick? Have you heard, Ziering? Have you heard, HBO? Have you heard, Farrow clan? You are racists. But I’m happy that all the world can see that now.

Then, to the phrase that I hear a lot lately: “Believe all survivors”. Yes: Believe them. As long as they are true survivors. To the other phrase: “Believe all victims”. Well, the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production carefully decided to believe only some of the victims. But that’s not it. The real problem is that the victims they picked to believe are the wrong victims.

Well, I’m going to wrap up, because only a few people will read this. I didn’t see the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production nor do I plan to ever see it. I also never saw The Birth of a Nation (Oh, Americans really seem to miss the myth of the Lost Cause, don’t they?), and I never watch “documentaries” that glorify Holocaust denial. All that garbage belongs in the garbage. And that’s where it lays. I’m very happy to have read that the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production has terrible ratings and that the critical reviews are absolutely sinking it. That’s what happens when you create a shameful pile of crap.

By the way, IMDb is declining most of the critical reviews. I know that because mine has been declined 5 times, and my husband’s too. In 2018, after those crocodile tears on TV, I created the Facebook group I Believe Woody. Today it has more than 11,200 members, and many members have written against the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production, but only a few critical reviews have been approved on IMDb. Also, I’m an administrator and moderator of other Woody Allen Facebook groups: Woody Allen Quotes (more than 28,000 members), Woody Allen Appreciation Society (more than 4,600 members), and Woody Allen Fans (more than 2,600 members), and I can say that all Woody Allen fans are furious at the propaganda, slander, omission, shame, lies, melodrama, and racism of the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production. Their voices too are being silenced, because their reviews on IMDb are being declined (or approved and, after 3 days, deleted). So, our hero can be slandered but we are not allowed to say anything? Well, the good news is that an imminent lawsuit will destroy the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production and all the people involved in it. That’s a delicious thought.

Woody Allen’s Official Facebook Page (with more than 2.2 MILLION of followers) posted an official statement from Woody and Soon-Yi some days ago:

So, this shameful HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production is the same old lie. The same old story. The same false accusation. Everything, everything points to Woody’s innocence and Mia Farrow’s diabolical vengeful pathology. The Farrow clan have spent their lives accusing an innocent man. That must be tiring! Poor them. How pathetic. Such a waste of a life. They will be so easily forgotten. But millions of fans from all around the world will continue loving, adoring and praising Woody’s work until the end of times.

One of the coolest photos that describe the feelings that Woody Allen’s family, friends, supporters and fans have towards this disgusting campaign against Woody is the following photo, posted on Woody Allen’s Official Facebook Page, right before the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow production aired. Here you go, that’s for all of you: HBO, Dick, Ziering, Farrow clan, and supporters of the lie!

Woody will always be remembered as the genius who created the most powerful, beautiful and brilliant roles for women, the genius who drew poetry with his films, the genius who poured philosophy in his films, the genius who made us cry and laugh, and the genius who made us think about love, life and death. On the contrary, the three vengeful Farrows, the HBO-Dick-Ziering-Farrow garbage production, and all the opportunists who felt good slandering Woody and tweeting against Woody will be remembered by their ugliness, injustice and cowardice for some years and finally will be forgotten for ever.

Antonia Tejeda Barros, 
Madrid, March 5, 2021 

I love, admire, and support Woody!

Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, February 20, 2021

Rifkin’s Festival: A homage to cinema and existentialism. Nobody makes movies like Woody any more!

Rifkin’s Festival is a masterpiece!

A homage to cinema and existentialism. So so so beautiful! And meaningful! (even if Woody wouldn’t agree). Nobody makes movies like Woody any more.

This movie really touched my heart: it moved me, it made me laugh and it made me think about life, love, and death. I got my dosis of philosophy and art for a year!

Rifkin’s Festival is a real gem. One of Woody’s best films! Poetic, philosophical, magical, funny, sad, delightful, entertaining, and magnificent. A marvellous script, a spectacular cast, an exquisite cinematography, and wonderful music. Delicious and indispensable!

The movie is so incredibly good and it says so much that I really hope it is not Woody’s last film.

Bravo, Woody! Thank you so much for your art! Please, keep creating!

10 / 10

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, October 2, 2020

A Rainy Day in New York (finally!)

A Rainy Day in New York (2019). Dir. the great Woody Allen

Thanks to a shameful and horrifying lynching campaign against Woody I was robbed last year of my yearly Woody Allen film (me and millions of fans around the world). So, I had to wait until today (August 24th) to see the film. I was very lucky to be with my family in the Netherlands this month and this afternoon I went with my oldest daughter (she’s 13 and loves Woody’s films) to the national Dutch preview of A Rainy Day in New York at the Film Hallen (Hannie Dankbaarpassage 12, Amsterdam). We live in Madrid and in Spain the film will only arrive in October.

I don’t want to give ANY SPOILERS here, but I just will say: Wow, such a film: funny, poetic, beautiful, clever and so entertaining. We enjoyed it so much. Such a gem! Woody is so brilliant, Vittorio is the king of light, and the writing is so cool and funny. The only problem: the film felt too short! I wish it would have gone on for two more hours… (Woody should always make films that are over two hours long, one hour and a half simply feels too short).

I have to confess that I was very angry with Timothée Chalamet because of his cowardice and opportunism, but I must say that his performance in the film is very beautiful. Selena Gomez is also really good and Diego Luna is very funny. Elle Fanning is probably the weakest actress here (to play comedy isn’t that easy after all) but it doesn’t bother so much because her lines are hilarious. Cherry Jones’ performance is absolutely spectacular. Liev Schreiber, Jude Law, Will Rogers and Kelly Rohrbach are fantastic in the film but I wish they’d appear more.

The music of A Rainy Day in New York is wonderful as in all Woody Allen films, you can feel the rain’s perfume and there are plenty of quotes that will make you laugh and enjoy.

I feel really sad for the millions of Woody Allen fans around the world who still cannot watch this film. I’m furious at the stupidity and witch-hunting that goes on in the States and don’t have words to express my anger and disappointment. The world is upside down. How is it possible that Woody’s art has suffered because of a shameful prefabricated accusation? Woody has worked with hundreds and hundreds of actresses in the past half century and nobody, NOBODY, has ever complaint of wrong conduct. If you believe that prefabricated story made by three vengeful psychos you are either ignorant, stupid, antisemite, or just part of the lynch mob. Sexual predators always abuse several victims and this false absurd accusation smelled of nonsense and vengeance from the beginning. (For the ones who feel uncomfortable with the fact that Woody fell in love with Soon-Yi Previn, just have in mind that Woody and Soon-Yi love each other and are together for more than 26 years, have two wonderful healthy beautiful daughters and don’t care about what you, me or the psychos think about their love. Their relationship and their love is what triggers the stupid people, not the shameful false accusation). Everybody deserves Woody’s art (well, not everybody, the psychos and the brainless herd who follow the psychos don’t) and it’s absolutely horrific that we live in times like this, in which innocent men are tried and hung by the social media. And, by the way, go to hell, stupid Amazon.

I’ve read some bad reviews about this film. As a musician, teacher and PhD candidate (Philosophy) I know how difficult is to create, so, I have a huge respect for the artists who do create. Because to think about creating is pretty easy, to trash the art of others is the easiest thing in the world, but to create and actually finish a project is very difficult. Woody is a wonderful director and a stunning writer. He’s 83 and he’s still a creating machine and I admire that a lot and thank him a lot for that.

Woody’s films talk about love, death, dreams, art, passions and desires, and are poetic, brilliant, real, magnificent, stunning and wonderful. No superheroes here, no bombs, no explosions, just real people with normal problems, like you and me. Woody’s films make life better. Thank you for your art, Woody, and, please, keep on creating.

10 / 10

 Antonia Tejeda Barros, Amsterdam, August 24, 2019

www.ibelievewoody.com

Happy 83rd birthday, Woody!

Happy 83rd birthday, Woody!

With love, respect, and admiration.

Thank you so much for your amazing art!

Many birthday wishes to you, dear Woody, from some of your fans from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Uruguay, and USA.

These are the wonderful people who participated in this amazing collage:

Maryam Amiribehzadi. Accountant, mountaineer, ping pong player, Woody Allen movies lover. Tehran, Iran.

Octavio Barros Vicuña. Uncle and great-uncle, smoker, bird and butterfly lover, stamp collector. Santiago de Chile, Chile.

Flavia Bellu. Writer, cinephile, singer, baker, native New Yorker. Berkeley, CA, USA.

Khashayar Boroomand. Philosophy PhD, Woody’s fan, fond of music, cinema, and chess. Tehran, Iran.

Souha Boughanmi. Woman, passionate for love, grateful to Woody Allen. Tunis, Tunisia.

Dennis Brian. Screenwriter, completist, friend, Philosophy graduate. Green Valley, AZ, USA.

Javier Camacho Cruz. Fine Arts teacher in Tokio, Japanese translator and modern Japanese literature lover. Jaén, Spain.

Tindaro Capuano. Father of Ludovico, clarinet player as our friend Woody, swimmer (or at least I like to swim). Palermo, Italy.

Patricia Casal Rodríguez. Passionate, curious, Foodle and nature lover. Vigo, Spain.

Beto Caserio. Oboe player, uncle of three, music teacher, cinephile. São Paulo, Brazil.

David Cerdá. Philosopher and writer who has seen all of Woody’s films. Seville, Spain.

Robert Chastain. Poet, artist, photographer, novelist. Longmont, CO, USA.

Vasilis Chatzigeorgiou. Student, theater-goer, cinephile, book-lover, dreamer. Thessaloniki, Greece.

Mireille Clees. “Mom” of two dogs, cinema, book, Woody and nature lover. Theux, Belgium.

Victoria Corral Blázquez. Woman, mother, wife, consultant, passionate about the future. Madrid, Spain.

Nadia Edwards. Emigrée, divorcée, Woody Allen passionée. Miami, FL, USA.

Sophie Girardin. English teacher, 45, I watch Woody’s movies again and again. Saint Étienne, France.

Nina Gleize. Writer. Montréal, Canada.

Anna Grau. Writer, reader, journalist, I interviewed Woody once! Madrid, Spain.

Tussah Heera. Pianist, composer, writer, dreamer, and philosopher queen. Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Marc Heller. Married, father, bi-polar, witty, under-achiever. London, UK.

Sébastien Jacques. IT engineer and Woody Allen fan since the 80s. Paris, France.

Michael Joseph. Poet, Robert Graves scholar, failed clarinetist, New Yorker, resist/persist! New York City, USA.

Andrey V. Kalashnikov. Huge Woody Allen fan over a period of 25 years. Moscow, Russia.

Danae Kardara. Philologist, writer, dreamer, romantic, and sarcastic. Karditsa, Greece.

Hesham Khaled. Software developer, Woody movies addict, jazz junkie. Alexandria, Egypt.

Polina Kiou. Fashion, movies and animal lover. Athens, Greece.

Tempe Laver. Curious, stubborn, shy, middle aged. Brisbane, Australia.

Scott Linker. Musician, father of Sabrina and two Yorkies. Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Andrea Lukomski. Mom of two girls, teacher, dreamer, Woody Allen admirer, nature and animal lover. Vukovar, Croatia.

Tom MacCammon. Musician, writer, supporter of Woody. Toronto, Canada.

Hannes Minkema. Teacher, learner, father, son, musician, audience. Amsterdam,  The Netherlands.

Hesam Mohamadi. Engineer, philosopher, dreamer, writer, sleeper. Tehran, Iran.

Mariana E. Montes. Psychiatrist and artist. There is more truth in poetry than in history. Montevideo, Uruguay.

Pavlina Nelson. Mom, wife, cinephile, bookworm, nature lover. Prague, Czech Republic.

Monica Nicolau. Book-movie-music-junkie, mathematician. San Francisco, USA.

Kostas Papazafeiropoulos. Musician, composer, art lover, father of two. Athens, Greece.

Adrian Pasarica. Software engineer by profession, Woody’s fan by nature. Timisoara, Romania.

Mar Pastor González. Book-eater, The Beatles, jazz and dog lover, Woody’s fan. I love the films of the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Madrid, Spain.

Olga Radulovic. Animal, music, and nature lover, vegan and cinephile. Woody’s fan. Vukovar, Croatia.

Hana Radulovic. Artist, caring, animal lover, sensitive and modest. Woody’s fan. Vukovar, Croatia.

Odalys Rey. Cuban, family, love, peace, happiness. Havana, Cuba..

Jacquelyn Roberts. Artist who serves Art. Tehachapi, CA, USA.
 
Stéphan Sante. Musician, piano teacher, cinephile, Woody’s fan. Verviers, Belgium.

Billie Shankar. Woody Allen fan. Brussels, France.

Carol Space. I love Café Society, Blue Jasmine, Midnight in Paris and Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona. Brewster, MA, USA.

Ruth Streett. Mother and grandmother living in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Israel.

Eyal Streett. Father, musician, curious, cook, creative. Jerusalem. Israel.

Yael Streett Tejeda. Musician, ballet and hip hop dancer, tae kwon do brown belt, painter, trilingual. Madrid, Spain.

Itay Streett Tejeda. Writer, book-eater, chocolate lover, hip hop dancer, basketball player. Madrid, Spain.

​Dalit Streett Tejeda. Ballerina, violinist, recorder player, swimmer, ice cream lover. Madrid, Spain.

Michael Taft. Book and music lover. Loves anything to do with Woody Allen. Christchurch, New Zealand.

Ulrich Tangl. Basketball player, basketball coach, basketball organizer, ex-sports editor, single. Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany.

Antonia Tejeda Barros. Mother of Yael, Itay and Dalit, musician, Philosophy MA, teacher, cinephile. Madrid, Spain.

Moiz Terem. Woody’s fan, book, film, and jazz lover, father of two. Tel Aviv, Israel.

Marise Thomspson. Music, movies, history, animals, and Woody Allen lover. I love to laugh. Ohoka, New Zealand.

María del Pilar Trujillo. Life lover, meat lover, wine lover, salsa music lover, Woody Allen art lover. Bogotá, Colombia.

Elisabeth T. Walker. Inspirational artist-writer-performer-activist-mystic. New Haven, CT, USA.

Gizem Yenikler. Writer, art, theatre and music lover, cinephile, traveller. Izmir, Turkey.

Kiana Zanetti. Musician, poet, cinephile, Woody’s fan. Montréal, Canada.

Yulia Zharkaya. Founder of vk and Woody Allen fan. Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Evelyne de Zilah. Student, cinephile, book-eater, discreet, thankful for Woody Allen’s Art. Creuë, France.

CC 2018 I Believe Woody

www.ibelievewoody.com 

See the original birthday card for Woody here

To Rome With Love

To Rome With Love (2012). Dir. Woody Allen

Jerry (Woody Allen): “Don’t analyze me, Phyllis, okay? You know, many have tried and all have failed. My brain doesn’t fit the usual id-ego-superego model!”

Phyllis (Judy Davis): “No, you have the only brain with three ids.”

Yesterday I watched with my kids To Rome With Love, by the genius Woody Allen, for the 100th time. Such a great movie! Hilarious, amusing, and cool: full of jokes and funny moments.

Woody manages (as always) to tell his story with humour, deep, jokes and more. This time he tells 4 stories, all amusing and imaginative.

I love that Woody is in the movie, accompanied by the great and beautiful Judy Davis. When they first appear, in the plane, we already get Woody’s philosophical humour. He says to Judy: “I can’t unclench when there’s turbulence. You know, I am an atheist.”

My favorite character is Leopoldo Pisanello, played brilliantly by the hilarious Roberto Benigni. We laugh every second that he’s in the movie. The Italian actors Alessandro Tiberi (Antonio, Milly’s husband), Alessandra Mastronardi (Milly), Antonio Albanese (the famous actor Luca Salta), and Riccardo Scamarcio (the hotel burglar) are all hilarious. The legendary Ornella Muti appears 10 seconds in the film. 

Fabio Armiliato is a very well-known opera tenor singer who plays the role of Giancarlo beautifully and sings amazing (in the shower). Armiliato has had leading roles and sung in the most prestigious opera houses of the world (Metropolitan Opera House of New York, La Scala in Milan, and L’Opéra de Paris). 

Alec Baldwin is great as always. Jesse Eisenberg plays to the perfection the role of a shy and confused young man. Penélope Cruz is wonderful and beautiful as always. Alison Pill (Hayley)’s performance is very fresh, and Flavio Parenti (who is Michelangelo, Hayley’s fiancé) is great in his role as an angry ultra left-wing young man. Monica Nappo plays amazingly Pisanello’s humble wife. 

Since Page and Gerwig opportunistically stabbed Woody right after the world saw Dylan Farrow’s crocodile’s tears in January 2018 (she’s been trying to destroy Woody with her prefabricated story for ages), I can’t stand watching them onscreen. Their treason, hypocrisy and opportunism will be always remembered (unlike their acting). Nevertheless, the lines that Woody wrote for them are really good.

The cinematography of the film is really beautiful. Cinematographer Darius Khondji (born in Iran but majored in Film at New York University) worked previously with Woody in Anything Else (2003) and Midnight in Paris (2011) and would go on working with Woody in two other films: Magic in the Moonlight (2014) and the masterpiece Irrational Man (2015). Other great works of Khondji include Delicatessen (1991), La cité des enfants perdus (1995), Alien: Resurrection (1997), and Amour (2012). He also worked as a cinematographer in many videos of Madonna. 

To Rome With Love is rated in IMDB  “restricted”. I really don’t know why. Maybe because Penélope plays a prostitute? Well, as we all know in the States it’s OK to watch movies with thousands of bombs, guns, and killers, but love and sex are more dangerous and always restricted. Funny country…

To Rome With Love is another Woody Allen gem. A fresh and funny film, packed with jokes, beautiful long shots, great writing and a wonderful cast. 10/10

The worst: that Page and Gerwig contaminate the film (two ungrateful hypocrites who opportunistically stabbed Woody) .

The best: all the funny moments, Woody, the great Judy Davis, Roberto Benigni, and the cinematography.

We love you, Woody!

 Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, August 27, 2018

Irrational Man

Irrational Man (2015). Dir. Woody Allen

Abe (Joaquin Phoenix): “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”.

Irrational Man. Wow. Such a movie. A delight for anyone who loves philosophy, especially existentialist philosophy, my favorite!

The beginning of the movie is amazing. You can only hear a car and, right after the opening credits, Ramsey Lewis’ amazing funky jazz. The first word, pronounced by Joaquin Phoenix, is “Kant”. Woody Allen seems to have made Irrational Man for philosophy lovers: Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Dostoevsky, and Hannah Arendt’s thesis dance in this film. Anxiety, despair, the meaning of our existence, choice, morality, suicide, and murder are the film’s main themes.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is stunning. Really brilliant. Phoenix gained 33 pounds for the role of Abe, a controversial philosophy professor, anguished, depressed and a nihilist who talks to his students about how cruel and frustrating human existence is. Phoenix appears like a man made of blood and flesh, vulnerable and tormented, who prefers to live philosophy than to talk about.

I must admit that I am not a big fan of Emma Stone. I find all her performances basically the same. Nevertheless, her performance in Irrational Man is convincing thanks to Woody’s amazing writing. Still, she could have bothered herself and take some piano lessons if she was going to play the role of a piano student. Oh, well, those young divas…

The other woman is Rita, performed by Parker Posey, an awesome actress. Her performance is fresh, elegant and very real.

Ethan Phillips (who played the nasty IRS agent Gorsky in the 90’s comedy Green Card) has a small role in the movie and plays Jill’s father. I read some negative reviews about Jamie Blackey’s performance, who plays Jill’s boyfriend, Roy, but truthfully I think that he plays his role to perfection (a simple guy in love, plain and zero exciting).

Irrational Man has a bit of Match Point and a lot of Cassandra’s Dream, being at the same time original, genuine, and surprising. The end is unpredictable and has a taste of Hitchcock. Woody had already used Crime and Punishment in Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point and Cassandra’s Dream. Ramsey Lewis (who, I must admit, I didn’t know –I have already bought several CDs of his) accompanies us with his amazing funky jazz during all the film. Woody’s taste in music is definitely the best.

The Adair University (fictitious), where Abe taught before, is the same University that honours Harry Block in Deconstructing Harry and where Sondra Pransky studied journalism in Scoop (how funny).

Irrational Man is the last movie produced by Jack Rollins (Woody’s producer for over 45 years). Rollins died in 2015, age 100.

Abe brings to the extreme the first principle of existentialism: human beings are what we make of ourselves (“l’homme n’est rien d’autre que ce qu’il se fait”, argues Sartre in L’existentialisme est un humanisme). Man is what he decides to be, in complete freedom. Sartre argues that we don’t have freedom, but that we are freedom. Our freedom can never be renounced. Even if we decide not to be free, we are deciding in complete freedom not to be free. That’s what reflects Sartre’s explosive sentence “l’homme est condamné à être libre“[1]. We are free and we are completely responsible of what and who we are. There is no God. We are alone in the Universe. We are the solely owners of our own existence and the only responsible ones for our own choices.

Sartrean existentialism is a philosophy of freedom and action. To think about doing something, to hope, to wish, does not count at all for Sartre. Only to act has real value, and Abe knows it. If we wish for somebody to be dead, the only coherent action is murder. But what about morality? Well, are all men worth living? Really cruel people are parasites, are they not? Wouldn’t the world be a better place with less parasites?

When Abe decides to kill the corrupted judge, his life makes sense again. He starts enjoying life: he has big breakfasts (not only back coffee), is able to make love again, writes poetry again, and feels strong and alive. Suicide is not an option for Abe any more. His life has meaning. His murder plans are what give meaning to his existence.

Man is a being in search for meaning. That was brilliantly said by Viktor Frankl in 1946 in his heartbreaking book Man’s Search for Meaning (originally written in German and untitled …trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen. Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager). Frankl’s thesis is a yes to life with capital letters. His message: an unconditional faith in the meaning of existence: “meaning is available under any conditions, even the worst conceivable ones“[2]. Life has always meaning, until the end (“life has a meaning to the last breath“[3]) and it’s our duty to look for this meaning. Our main task is to have to give a meaning to our own existence.

Frankl argues that a person who has found the meaning of his life is able to give his life for that meaning, and a person who has not found the meaning of his life can easily commit suicide. At the beginning of the film, Abe suffers from existential vacuum and does not mind at all to die when he demonstrates to his students how to play the Russian roulette. But when he starts planning the murder and finds a meaning for his existence, he rejects suicide and embraces life.

Frankl argues that life has always meaning. Sartre, on the contrary, argues that nothing has real meaning: everything is absurd (like Camus). We are alone, without God and without excuses, and we have to carry courageously the emptiness of our human existence.

Frankl defines man as freedom, responsibility and meaning. Sartre defines man as freedom, responsibility and anguish. In the first half of  Irrational Man, Abe follows Sartre, and, afterwards, follows Frankl. Frankl’s thesis is less dark than Sartre’s. Nevertheless, I have always found an answer (even if a hard and depressing one) in Sartre’s philosophy, and, for what I’ve read, I think that Woody too.

In an interview from 2010, Woody was asked about his vision on life, and said: “I have a very grim pessimistic view of it. I always had. Since I was a little boy. It hasn’t gotten worse with age or anything. I do feel that it’s a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience and that the only way you can be happy is if you tell yourself some lies and deceive yourself (…) One must have one’s illusions to live. If you look at life too honestly life does become unbearable because it is a pretty grim enterprise“[4]. I agree completely. I think that neither life nor death have real meaning, so we have to create, love and grow as much as we can in order to not to succumb to despair.

Irrational Man is an absolutely brilliant film. A delightful masterpiece. 10 / 10

The best: the huge dosis of existential philosophy, Joaquin Phoenix’s stunning performance, Parker Posey, and Ramsey Lewis’ funky jazz.

The worst: Emma Stone’s perfectly combed hair.

Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, August 16, 2018

NOTES

[1] Sartre, Jean-Paul. L’existentialisme est un humanisme, p. 39

[2] Frankl, Viktor E. The Unheard Cry for Meaning, p. 41

[3] Frankl, Viktor E. “Introduction”, The Doctor and the Soul, p. xix

[4] Allen, Woody. Press conference You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Cannes, May 2010

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frankl, Viktor E. … trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen. Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager. München: Kösel, 2014 (2009), pp. 7–191

Frankl, Viktor E. Man’s Search for Meaning (trad. Ilse Lasch). Boston: Beacon, 2006, pp. ix–165

Frankl, Viktor E. The Doctor and the Soul. From Psychotherapy to Logotherapy (trad. Richard y Clara Winston). New York: Vintage Books, 1986, pp. ix–318

Frankl, Viktor E. The Unheard Cry for Meaning. New York: Touchstone, 1978, pp. 13–191

Frankl, Viktor E. TV interview, Toronto, 1972. THE WILL TO MEANING.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. L’être et le néant. Essai d’ontologie phénoménologique. France: Gallimard, 2010 (1943), pp. 11–676

Sartre, Jean-Paul. L’existentialisme est un humanisme. France: Gallimard, 2003 (1945), pp. 9– 109

The resented vengeful, the tedious obsessive, and the genius artist. #IBelieveWoody

The resented vengeful, the tedious obsessive, and the genius artist. #IBelieveWoody, by Antonia Tejeda Barros

I’m furious at this wave of rage and lies against Woody Allen. People have finally lost their common sense in the United States and the country has returned to the McCarthy era. The situation is really pathetic (not for Woody Allen, but for those cheap, hypocrite, opportunist, and ignorant accusers) and in Europe we don’t know if to cry or laugh at this whole mess.

The story is quite simple. I don’t understand why there are still people who say “We don’t know if Dylan was abused or not”. Of course we know! She was not abused. Not by Woody Allen, in any case. That’s not my opinion but the facts talking. All those opportunist losers who, in the name of the now-pathetic #MeToo movement, condemned Woody Allen haven’t read a single report proving Woody’s innocence. Is it malice? Is it ignorance? I don’t care what it is, but there is no excuse for being and acting so stupidly and irresponsibly and go and accuse somebody of something they didn’t even read about. The material is available on the internet (you can find these crucial three articles and a report supporting Woody’s innocence here). If all of Woody ‘s bullies (who show a big degree of illiteracy and idiocy) would spend half an hour of their time reading about the facts instead of tweeting and writing nonsense garbage about Woody this bomb would have never exploded.

And what about Hollywood? Yes, Hollywood: that place I used to admire and that I now find repulsive, full of rich opportunist actors who decided to take a piece of the cake, gain some ephemeral fame (just some tweets and some short news) and stab Woody in the back by saying they were sorry to have worked with Woody (after seeing the crocodile tears of Dylan Farrow) or, even more pathetic, promising they “would never work with Woody again”. There is something really comical about that sentence. Woody wasn’t planning on calling you again, you arrogant peacock losers!

Shame on the actors who have stabbed Woody in the back! Poor them. Nobody taught them that loyalty and gratitude are much more important than opportunism and hypocrisy. Woody’s fans will never forget their treason. These actors will always remain second-rate actors and will be remembered by their hypocrisy and their ugly opportunism while Woody will always remain a genius and will be remembered as one of the best filmmakers of the history of the cinema.

Also, let’s not drive things out of proportion here, because, although it made some noise, we are talking here about a bunch of actors who decided to eat a piece of this shameful cake. Let’s not forget that Woody has worked for the past 50 years with hundreds and hundreds of actors. And all (besides that shameful bunch) continue respecting him. The sad thing, of course, is that solidarity, loyalty and empathy are very seldom found these days. I wish those actors and actresses who love Woody would actually speak up. By now, the only two heroes that have stood firm by Woody are Alec Baldwin and Diane Keaton. I salute them and I will never forget their gesture.

Now let’s analyse the characters of this goofy story. First of all, we have Mia Farrow: the resented vengeful. A second-rate actress that, after appearing in a bunch of Woody Allen films didn’t do anything worth mentioning (in Woody’s movies she’s great, but thanks to Woody’s direction and script, nothing else). Back in 1992, Dylan kept repeating (together with her fantasied story of abuse) that her poor mother had lost her career in Woody’s films. What can you say about a woman that collects adoptive children like stamps and abuses them psychologically and physically (I’m not inventing that, this has been said by her adopted children Soon-Yi Previn and Moses Farrow)? Since I know that readers don’t tend to click on the links so much, here are some quotes by Soon-Yi and Moses about their adoptive mother:

“Mia was always very hot-tempered and given to rages which terrified all the kids. They can’t speak freely because they’re still dependent on her. But they could really tell stories and I’m sure one day will. It’s true Mia was violent with me and I have conclusive proof” Soon-Yin Previn

“[Mia] hit me uncontrollably all over my body. She slapped me, pushed me back and hit me on my chest (…) I was defeated, deflated, and beaten down” Moses Farrow

“[Mia] had a fierce temper. On one occasion, she kicked me and hit me again and again with the phone. She was always physical and violent with us” Soon-Yi Previn

“As a young child, I was given a new pair of jeans. I thought they would look cool if I cut off a couple of the belt loops. When my mother found I had done this, she spanked me repeatedly—as was her way—and had me remove all my clothes saying, ‘You’re not deserving of any clothes.’ Then she had me stand naked in the corner of her room” Moses Farrow

But in the media, Mia is the victim. Why? Because her already non-boyfriend Woody Allen fell in love with Mia’s and André Previn’s adopted daughter, Soon-Yi (who was 19 or 21 at the time, so, not a minor). Here I want to clarify some things because I can’t stand to continue reading misinformation and lies about this issue. First of all, Woody and Soon-Yi had hardly ever been in touch before 1992. Woody was Mia’s boyfriend (they never married) during 12 years but he never slept even once in her apartment. They lived separately. And we all know now that this made it easy for Mia to cheat on Woody with Frank Sinatra, since five years ago she said that her son Ronan (who is a physical replica of Frank) might “possibly” be Frank Sinatra’s son. So, Frank’s or nor Frank’s, Ronan is the proof that Mia was cheating on Woody. I don’t care at all about the sexual life of Mia Farrow (she can go with whoever she pleases) but I find it Kafkaesque that she presents herself as the Mother Superior in Morality when she was the Queen of Cheating (with Woody and with André Previn –with Previn she was the other woman). So, Woody never went and married his daughter, nor his stepdaughter, like stupid people keep repeating, since he never lived with Mia and Soon-Yi and was never a father figure to Soon-Yi. Bob Weide has explained and clarified the relationship between Woody and Soon-Yi in his brilliant article The Woody Allen Allegations: Not So Fast (please take 5 minutes and read it, you will learn a lot about this issue). But the most important thing here (more than your judgement on Woody’s and Soon-Yi’s relationship and love, or mine, or Mia’s or the neighbor’s) are Soon-Yi’s own words:

“Please don’t try and dramatize my relationship with Woody Allen. He was never any kind of father figure to me. I never had any dealings with him. He rarely came to our apartment before his own children were born. Even then, he never spoke and the truth is I never cared that much for him. He was always preoccupied with work and never talked to me. Not really to any of us. Only when Dylan was born did he start visiting regularly and then only to play with the baby. My own father is Andre Previn, who came to visit pretty often and took us all out frequently” Soon-Yin Previn (1992)

So, were Woody and Mia dating when Woody fell in love with Soon-Yi? Not any more, apparently. I always thought that Dylan Farrow’s lousy false accusation against Woody was prefabricated by Mia because of Woody’s story with Soon-Yi. But after reading Soon-Yi’s own words, I understood that if Woody would have started a relationship with another woman, any woman, it’s very possible that this prefabricated accusation would have arisen anyway.

“When I first got friendly with Woody, he and Mia were finished with their romance and were just friends. I think Mia would have been just as angry if he had taken up with another actress or his secretary” Soon-Yin Previn

Mia’s goal (then and …still now!) was to destroy Woody Allen at any price. And, what better than stab a knife into his heart, by taking his adoptive daughter Dylan away? Mia said to Woody (you can watch Woody’s interview here): “I have something very nasty planned for you”, and, most important and relevant to the story: “You took my daughter. I’m going to take yours”. Moses Farrow have said: “My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family (…) I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi.”

By the way, Soon-Yi and Woody Allen did marry. They married in Venice in 1997. They are sharing their lives together for 26 years already and have formed a beautiful family. They have two adopted daughters. If legally there would be any doubts about Dylan’s accusations, Woody would have never been able to adopt. But he didn’t have any problem. Soon-Yi and Woody are together for more than a quarter of a century, a non-common fact among celebrities.

In the Agatha Christie days that followed the explosion, Mia never took a lie-detector test. Woody not only did but asked to take one and, of course, he passed:

“I very willingly took a lie-detector test and of course passed because I had nothing to hide. I asked Mia to take one and she wouldn’t. Last week a woman named Stacey Nelkin, whom I had dated many years ago, came forward to the press to tell them that when Mia and I first had our custody battle 21 years ago, Mia had wanted her to testify that she had been underage when I was dating her, despite the fact this was untrue. Stacey refused. I include this anecdote so we all know what kind of character we are dealing with here. One can imagine in learning this why she wouldn’t take a lie-detector test” Woody Allen Speaks Out

The funny thing (or I should say: the pathetic thing) is that Mia paints herself like Mother Theresa: she collects adopted children, pretends to care about the poor children around the world, follows the Dalai Lama and the Pope, but, while abusing her adoptive children, has spent all her life bringing down Woody Allen. That’s sad and cheap. And very annoying. So, enough of Mia Farrow. Now, let’s go to the tedious obsessive: Dylan Farrow.

When I saw the melodramatic explosive interview of Dylan Farrow some days ago on the internet I felt sad and disgusted. How is it possible that this grown-up woman desires to make justice to her apparent injustice by denouncing her father on TV instead of bringing him to trial? The answer is simple: she (and mommy) already tried (26 years ago) to legally accuse Woody but she (they) did not succeed in anything, because Woody was investigated and was found innocent of all accusations. So, what’s left? Destroy him in public. Destroy him in the media. Destroy his reputation and, if possible, his movies too. I don’t see any seek for justice here. I only see a seek for revenge. An ugly, pathetic and sick seek for revenge.

Also, why is it that millions of us still don’t believe Dylan’s story? Because child abuse victims need to tell their story only once and they are believed. The abusers are investigated, charged and trialed, and then they pay their crime. That’s the case, for instance, of Mia Farrow’s (yes, Mia’s) brother, who was condemned in 2013 to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys during several years. Weird, huh?

Another important detail that clouds this prefabricated lie is that, generally, in cases of sexual abuse and pedophilia, the abuser has a record of more than one victim: that’s the case of Harvey Weinstein (more than 90 women), Bill Cosby (59 women and two 15 year-old girls) and Mia Farrow’s brother. Woody has never been accused by anybody in 82 years apart from his adopted daughter Dylan, not before and not after. Doesn’t Woody’s case sound completely prefabricated?

Moses Farrow feels sorry for his sister Dylan (who, in return, said to him that he was dead to her, how nice): “‪What breaks my heart the most is that while Dylan believes what she says, I know from my own experience, that it simply never happened. So many times I saw my mother try to convince her that she was abused –and it worked. Some day, I hope she can escape from my mother, confront the truth and begin her own healing” (You can read more Posts on Moses Farrow Facebook page).

Soon-Yi said about Dylan’s accusation, back in 1992:

“The business of him molesting Dylan is so ridiculous that I won’t dignify it with a comment. Why Dylan repeats her story is another matter, and a sinister one. I was not surprised that Mia made a videotape of Dylan saying these terrible things as I think the motive is obvious, but I was stunned that the tape would somehow find its way to the TV news (…) I have refrained from commenting, but when Mia brought up child molestation and then had her sisters and mother and kids and friends parade out in public and do her dirty work for her, climaxing with that tape of Dylan being given out, I felt I had to speak at this point” Soon-Yin Previn (1992)

Woody himself said four years ago, in 2014:

“I naïvely thought the accusation would be dismissed out of hand because of course, I hadn’t molested Dylan and any rational person would see the ploy for what it was. Common sense would prevail. After all, I was a 56-year-old man who had never before (or after) been accused of child molestation. I had been going out with Mia for 12 years and never in that time did she ever suggest to me anything resembling misconduct. Now, suddenly, when I had driven up to her house in Connecticut one afternoon to visit the kids for a few hours, when I would be on my raging adversary’s home turf, with half a dozen people present, when I was in the blissful early stages of a happy new relationship with the woman I’d go on to marry — that I would pick this moment in time to embark on a career as a child molester should seem to the most skeptical mind highly unlikely. The sheer illogic of such a crazy scenario seemed to me dispositive. Woody Allen Speaks Out

Dylan has spent all her life accusing Woody Allen. Poor her. How pathetic. If I were Woody, I would sue her (and mommy) for having lied with so much hatred and destruction during all these long years. But Woody seems so nice and so not interested in gossip and hatred, that I know he will not do a thing. Four years ago, he only had love and sadness for his adopted daughter:

“I never saw [Dylan] again nor was I able to speak with her no matter how hard I tried. I still loved her deeply, and felt guilty that by falling in love with Soon-Yi I had put her in the position of being used as a pawn for revenge. Soon-Yi and I made countless attempts to see Dylan but Mia blocked them all, spitefully knowing how much we both loved her but totally indifferent to the pain and damage she was causing the little girl merely to appease her own vindictiveness” Woody Allen Speaks Out

When I first heard Dylan’s story, I knew Woody was innocent but I felt sorry for Dylan. A 7 year old girl fantasizes about a non-event and her mother takes advantage and exploits that to the point that the little girl believes that this actually happened. It’s sad but we all have to overcome our traumas (real traumas or imaginary ones). Now I don’t feel sorry at all for her. I feel it is shameful and disgraceful that a grown-up woman continues destroying Woody and the people who love him in an obsessive manner night and day in her tweets, in articles and on TV. I found this pathetic. Her name is very annoying to me and to millions of Woody’s fans. My guess is that Dylan Farrow probably wanted to be famous but didn’t have any talent. But now, hey, she has become (sadly) famous and has thousands of followers on Twitter. The truth is that her comments and accusations (to Woody and to everybody that respects Woody) are really annoying, snake-like and immature and she does not deserve much ink. So, enough about her.

And now, let’s go to Woody, the genius artist.

There are very little geniuses alive today that surprise me, accompany me, influence me and fascinate me like Woody Allen. I’ve seen all his movies and I love them all. His scripts are amazing, the cinematography in his films is always exquisite and the philosophy, humor, and drama of his films are overwhelming.

To this day, Woody has directed 50 films, has written 50 scripts and has acted in 46 films (I don’t count here the TV series and shorts). This effervescent creativity is often compared to Bergman’s, who wrote 69 films and directed 64. Woody was born in 1935. He’s 82 years old. His mother, Nettie, died at age 96, and his father lived to reach 100 years. I really hope that Woody (once all this shit has smoked out) will continue rewarding us with his amazing and brilliant movies for the next 20 years.

Woody will always be remembered as one of the greatest filmmakers. In contrast, the resented vengeful and the tedious obsessive would be, with time, remembered as the two snakes who made everything possible to stop the world from enjoying Woody’s magnificent art.

I saw yesterday (again, but this time with my older kids) Broadway Danny Rose. Such an amazing movie! I would like to finish this small love letter to Woody with a quote from the film. Funny, it seems like Mia Farrow didn’t get the whole idea of Broadway Danny Rose. Poor her:

Danny: Well, just let me say one thing. My Uncle Sidney, man, you know, lovely uncle—dead, completely—used to say three things. Used to say, “Acceptance, forgiveness, and love.”

Tina: Yeah.

Danny: And that is a philosophy of life. Acceptance, forgiveness, and love.

Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

 Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, February 4, 2018

 

#IBelieveWoody

#IBelieveWoody is a small site with:

Woody Allen’s quotes

Reviews on Woody Allen’s films

Facts about Woody Allen

Articles and reports that support Woody Allen’s innocence

We love you, we believe you, we need you, Woody!

To Woody with love,

Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, January 31, 2018