An unexpectedly humble Michael Moore appeared before journalists earlier today following a press screening of his latest non-fiction feature Where To Invade Next. The event was a precursor to the film’s U.S. premiere Friday evening at the 53rd New York Film Festival.

“Thanks everybody for coming out on a rainy day to watch this. I appreciate it.” Moore stated before fielding questions from the press. The filmmaker was clearly anxious about how the film would be received in his home country, explaining that the project had been a big secret, that he didn’t do any test screenings, and that we were the first U.S. audience to see it. The only other screenings of the film were with our neighbors to the north at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. Moore later went on to stress how important the audience is his filmmaking process. He actually doesn’t consider a film complete until it’s seen by an audience.

Moore is known for creating entertaining and thought-provoking films that are critical of American policies. Where to Invade Next follows suit, but sees the filmmaker approaching the subject matter in a more underhanded manner. For the film, Moore traveled to countries across Europe and Northern Africa to uncover ways that these places are getting it right with regard to treatment of factory workers, debt-free education, rehabilitation programs for prisoners, drug laws and more. His hope was to steal/bring these ideas back to America and somehow affect change. But surprisingly, along the way he learns that many of the “best practices” he unearths are based on concepts that originated in the U.S.. We’re left wondering how and why we veered off course and if there’s a way to recover.

Angry but still an optimist, Moore believes change is possible in the U.S. and that it can start small. At the press conference, he joked that Jesus had just 12 guys.

It was announced earlier this week that Where to Invade Next will arrive in cinemas across America in December. It will be the first release of the new soon-to-be-named company formed by former RADIUS founders and co-presidents Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, and Alamo Drafthouse Founder and CEO Tim League. We hope the release will be accompanied by a campaign that offers some actionable next steps.

Where to Invade Next screens again at the NYFF on Saturday, October 3 at 3pm at Alice Tully Hall. Tickets are still available. Moore will also be participating in an HBO sponsored free talk on Sunday, October 4 at 3pm. Visit the NYFF website for more details and see below for a teaser trailer for the film.