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- Human rights abuses by graduates of the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) are chillingly documented at the beginning of the campaign to close the school.
- Challenging assumptions, nuclear proliferation of today is seen through the devastating yet inspirational life of Nagasaki survivor Sakue Shimohira - joined by college students - dedicated to making sure the truth about the last atomic bomb deliberately used on human beings will never be forgotten. There are other documentaries about the atomic bomb, but none include what is in this one, for the first time: * It challenges the widely held U.S. assumption that dropping the bomb on Nagasaki was essential to end World War II. The provocative arguments about that decision have never been part of a U.S. documentary. * It presents information about an almost unknown part of post World War II history: the Press Code imposed by the U.S. occupation government on Japan's media. Prohibiting media reports on the bomb or its health effects, the Code had a significant effect on how survivors were mistreated in their own country and how their health problems were misunderstood. * It presents information about the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, a U.S. agency that gathered data from thousands of survivors, sent that data to the U.S.-not Japan-and did not attempt to ameliorate the health problems of the survivors. * It also is innovative in crossing generations, by showing a 70-year old bomb survivor accompanied by college students who have taken up her cause. In one of the film's most powerful moments Sakue describes her sister's suicide ten years after the war ended as "the courage to die." Ms. Shimohira, the survivor, found "the courage to live" and dedicate her life to abolishing nuclear weapons. The film follows the tiny, tireless and dedicated survivor and two college students to Paris, London, Washington, DC and New York as they present letters to the British Prime Minister, French President and President Bush, inviting them to come to Nagasaki and to lead efforts to make sure what happened there will never again happen anywhere. In Paris Mrs. Shimohira shares memories in a moving encounter with an Auschwitz survivor. She stirs high school students in London and New York City with her presence and description of the bomb and its effects. At the film's life affirming conclusion it is clear that student Haruka has become motivated to carry on Mrs. Shimohira's nuclear abolition message to young people around the world. "It's impossible to remain detached...Deeply affecting..." -New York Times "***(3 stars) A worthwhile effort to understand an event that should never be repeated. Recommended." -Video Librarian "****(4 stars) Impossible not to be moved" -Time Out Magazine "Shedding light on the dark corners of history... fascinating...alarming...the simple, earnest truth." -The Villager
- "Do Not Enter" is a thought-provoking and entertaining investigation of the far-reaching historic effects of the 1952 McCarran Walter Act, largely repealed in 1991-repealed with the help of this documentary. The Act had been used to bar 250,000 foreigners from entering the U.S. on political grounds. The USA Patriot Act has revived much of the McCarthy era law whose impact on free speech and foreign policy is the focus of "Do Not Enter." Exclusive interviews with prominent cultural and political figures amplify the legacy of this Cold War law and its blockade of democracy's free flow of ideas. The filmmakers traveled to twelve countries to interview people invited to speak or participate in U.S. cultural activities, to learn why they had been denied U.S. visas and what they might have told Americans if allowed to enter the U.S. "A bold, indignant documentary." -Newsday "An excellent resource for classes." -Journal of American History "This outstanding video should be seen by every educator who believes in academic freedom. Also suitable for college students, it could easily be used as the basis for discussing what, if any, limits should be imposed on free speech. "Those who would dismiss U.S. restrictions by suggesting that foreigners need not be granted First Amendment rights, might well examine the flip side, that is, the possible infringement of U.S. citizens' rights to hear opposing opinions. Four Gold Stars." -Teaching Equity Journal
- Critical investigation of The World Bank and IMF. Too hot for PBS, but prime time TV everywhere else. Do the World Bank and IMF make the poor even poorer? Are the Bank and IMF democratic institutions? Why do people demonstrate against the Bank and IMF? For the first time, a documentary global investigation of major criticisms of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two of the most powerful financial institutions in the world. Five country case studies are presented, each concentrating on a different aspect of critics' charges: 1. Bolivia: Debt, Drugs and Democracy 2. Ghana: The Model of Success 3. Brazil: Debt, Damage and Politics 4. Thailand: Dams and Dislocation 5. Philippines: The Debt Fighters. The charges, including those related to structural adjustment, are controversial and provocative. Some go to the heart of the power and policies of these institutions. They are made by economists, journalists, sociologists; church, labor, environmental, government and community leaders; and ordinary people from these countries who are perceived by critics to be victims of IMF and World Bank policies and projects. Responses to criticisms are presented by the World Bank Senior Vice President, the IMF Deputy Managing Director and top current and past government officials from each country. Bank/Fund history and decision-making processes are also included in this valuable teaching tool. "Clear and comprehensive... admired the way in which you were able to bring an in-depth exploration of these complex issues to life." -UN Development Program "Well balanced...Excellent...Superior." -U.S.A. Gabriel Awards "Thought provoking." -Bank Check Quarterly PBS would not telecast The Money Lenders because "it has a perception of bias in favor of the poor." Despite this allegation, Video Librarian magazine recommends it as an "interesting look at both sides of the issue..." It was a prime time telecast in the 1990s throughout Europe, updated in 2000 for educational institutions and is currently used in hundreds of college classrooms.
- The documentary traces Pauling's unique achievements as both scientist and peace crusader. He enthusiastically describes the events leading to his first Nobel award, for chemistry, while innovative footage depicts his research into the structure of matter, his role in the science of molecular biology, and his race against Watson and Crick for the discovery of the double helix. His disputed Vitamin C crusade is also frankly depicted. Pauling became one of America's most controversial figures in the early 1960s when he helped lead the "Ban the Bomb" campaign and appeared as the featured guest before hostile interviewers on "Meet the Press." His persistence and leadership led to Pauling's Nobel Prize for Peace. It was announced in 1962 on the day President John F. Kennedy signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. "Linus Pauling, Crusading Scientist" is both a warm, personal biography and a scientific adventure through some of the most compelling moments of the last century. It is about a genuine American original, an inspiration to students, aspiring chemists, activists and anyone interested in learning about an extraordinary human being. Pauling is the only person in history to win two unshared Nobel Prizes, and in two different fields: Chemistry and Peace. Albert Einstein: Pauling is "one of the most inventive scientists of this [the 20th] century."
- Pediatric science pioneer, best selling author of books on child rearing, Olympic gold medal winner, peace activist, Presidential candidate, sailor--the life and times of one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
- Modern forensic science re-examines the evidence in the assassination of President Kennedy.
- American teachers visit China for the first time, an experience that transforms them and their students.
- The incident at Browns Ferry began when a candle flame accidentally began a fire that went out of control, leading to a near melt down in what was then the largest nuclear power plant in the US.
- Is our food bought at the price of famine in the developing world? Is agribusiness more interested in producing profits than producing food? This PBS independent documentary investigates U.S. and European agribusiness in the Third World. Filmed on five continents, it takes a close look at agribusiness, which is turning the world's food supply into a global supermarket, buying food at the lowest prices-regardless of small farmers and local populations-and selling it at the highest price and the greatest profit whenever possible.
- "Crossing the Line" shows Martin Sheen leading 2,319 people in the largest act of civil disobedience in the U.S. since the Vietnam war. Risking arrest, they all crossed the line onto the grounds of Ft. Benning, which houses the U.S. Army School of the Americas (now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). It took place on November 22, 1998, with over 7,000 people from all over the U.S. and other nations--some trained Ft. Benning--met just outside the gates of the army base.Carrying symbolic coffins and crosses bearing the names of thousands of men, women and children assassinated by SOA graduates in Latin America, they demanded that the U.S. government stop training foreign soldiers and close SOA's doors forever. "Crossing the Line" documents this inspiring and dramatic non-violent protest.
- A film on postwar Vietnam.
- Sweatshops, World Bank and IMF policies are linked to the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA). Powerful statements from Students against Sweatshops, labor leaders, veterans and church people participating in protests at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia and at a Washington DC protest of World Bank and IMF policies. "One of the outstanding documentary shorts of the year." -Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
- Student activists at the world's largest peace conference create their agenda for the future.
- Dioxins, PCBs and profit v. public health. A hard-hitting investigation of dioxins and PCBs, with a clear scientific explanation of why they are the most poisonous man-made substances in existence, and the disturbing human consequences of exposure to them. Corporate defenders, scientists and victims appear, including U.S. veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war, factory workers exposed to PCBs, housewives exposed to toxic spray in logging areas, people exposed to the poisons at Love Canal and other waste disposal sites. Part One focuses on dioxin. Part Two focuses on PCBs.
- Profiles of non-violent protesters who risk jail time for crossing the boundary line to Ft Benning as a symbolic action. They do it as part of the SOA Watch movement that calls for the closing of the U.S. Army School of the Americas (now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). Included is a mother of three sons whose brother died in military combat.
- Nagasaki and Fukushima survivors interlaced with experts link nuclear weapons and nuclear power. A wake up call.
- Strategies for safety and health when dealing with asbestos, focusing on five primary areas of potential danger.
- The first global look at this global issue. It was filmed in a dozen rain forest countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America--as well as in Japan, the world's largest importer of rain forest logs.
- Clean air v. industry profits and the White House. National Emmy finalist, investigative documentaries. A hard-hitting investigative documentary of industry efforts, in cooperation with the Republican controlled U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to weaken the Clean Air Act. The film exposed the phony claims of concern for protecting the environment by the Reagan administration, the same kind of hypocritical line fed to the media and the public by the Bush White House. It was not long after telecast of this documentary that the head of EPA of that era resigned. Included in the film are industry and government advocates, air pollution victims and scientists trying to cope with acid rain. Filmed in the Pittsburgh PA area, Los Angeles, Japan, Sweden, Canada and England.
- Prohibited and restricted agricultural products sold without proper information. Documents the "circle of poison" of banned and restricted pesticides used on products we import, such as coffee, bananas and cotton. A fishing village in Ghana shines through as an example of both problem and solution. The first national PBS telecast created an international sensation. United Nations delegates who saw the program demanded an end to the practices documented; this led to an international monitoring system. It is a rare example of a documentary that truly made a difference. * Distinguished Science Reporting Award - American Association for the Advancement of Science * DuPont Columbia Broadcast Journalism Award (TV's Pulitzer Prize)
- Documents the export to developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America of pharmaceutical products that are totally prohibited or severely restricted in their countries of origin. Specific products and manufacturers are named. Only one manufacturer agreed to be interviewed for this hard-hitting investigative report. They then tried to bribe the producer so that he would cancel its telecast. "More of a piece of investigative journalism than any other program honored. And what made it special was that it was produced not by a major station or network, but by Robert Richter, an independent producer. He beat the networks, with all their money, at their own game." -New York Times report on DuPont Columbia Award for this documentary (TV's Pulitzer Prize)