Current Concerns

2012-02-10T17:17:00.000-05:00

Uprising in Syria

The recent events in Syria, only days after the first anniversary of the revolt at Tahrir Square in Egypt, have raised the question of international intervention once more. As reported by The Washington Post, Turkey called Friday for rapid international action to supply humanitarian assistance to besieged cities in Syria but said the time was not right to begin arming the Syrian opposition.

Our release SYRIA: THE ASSADS' TWILIGHT gives an in-depth background on the political situation of the country by exposing the history of the family in power and the problems in the regime.

2011-12-28T15:32:00.003-05:00

Satellite photos of the Alberta tar sands

NASA has posted a series of satellite photos documenting the expansion of the Athabasca tar sands from 1984 to 2011. See the set here.

Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands, shot primarily from a helicopter, offers an unparalleled view of this extraordinary spectacle, which scope can only be understood from far above.

2011-09-12T18:01:00.002-04:00

Child labor in Mexico

Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography, similar to our Census Bureau, published results on the country’s child labor practices through 2009. Despite a decrease of 17%, the report shows nearly 3.0Million children between the ages of 5 through 17 are in the workforce, as reported in July.

Eugenio Polgovsky's THE INHERITORS, currently screening at the Anthology Film Archives in NYC, immerses us in the daily lives of these children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor.

2011-08-19T17:57:00.003-04:00

Save the Bees!

August 20th is National Honey Bee Day. Get involved!

For more information on the dire future of the bees, check out our new Fall release THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE BEES.

2011-08-01T14:44:00.002-04:00

A graphic chart of radiation from electronics

The Scientific American offers this very informative graphic.

For more information on how our daily environment exposes us to all sorts of radiation, see SURROUNDED BY WAVES, a fascinating blend of interviews, archives, experiments and 3D animation investigating what is known, and unknown, about the potential risks.

2011-06-27T17:30:00.003-04:00

Hague Court Issues Warrant for Qaddafi for War Crimes

The International Criminal Court, led by prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, issued arrest warrants for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his chief of intelligence, Abdullah Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, stemming from the first two weeks of the uprising in Libya that led to a NATO bombing campaign, as reported by The New York Times.

Our new release, PROSECUTOR, follows Moreno-Ocampo as he travels to the world’s most violent countries to investigate and prosecute those accused of brutal crimes against humanity.

2011-06-14T17:17:00.001-04:00

June 18th is International Stop the Tar Sands Day

PETROPOLIS: AERIAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ALBERTA TAR SANDS is now online!

Throughout the world, people will be taking action against one of the most destructive and largest industrial projects on the earth - the Alberta Tar Sands.

In support of this occasion, Icarus Films has partnered with online cinema MUBI to make our documentary about this issue available.

2011-03-25T12:09:00.003-04:00

Centennial of the Triangle Fire

March 25, 2011 is the Centennial of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire which took the lives of 146 workers,mostly young immigrant women, and galvanized a movement for social justice.

The New York Times remembers Clara Lemlich, "who is being recognized as a leading voice of working women in the early 20th century, a clarion force braided into the history of change that came before and after the fire."

Learn more with our release CLARA LEMLICH: A STRIKE LEADER'S DIARY.

2011-03-09T14:29:00.001-05:00

PRESUMED GUILTY back in theaters in Mexico!

Good news! A court tribunal revoked the temporary suspension order for the film in Mexico.

Article in Spanish here.

2011-03-08T16:52:00.002-05:00

PRESUMED GUILTY now banned in Mexico

As reported by the BBC, the documentary PRESUMED GUILTY, has been pulled from theaters in Mexico.

The ruling provoked a storm of protest and complaints about censorship.

2011-03-03T14:37:00.003-05:00

PRESUMED GUILTY might be banned in Mexico

A federal judge ordered today in Mexico the temporary suspension of the screening of the documentary film.

Read more about this on the blog of Cinema Tropical.

PRESUMED GUILTY is a searing examination of the Mexican criminal justice system through the case of one man, wrongly accused of murder.

2011-02-17T15:30:00.003-05:00

Non-violent revolutions and Gene Sharp

In the wake of the events in Egypt, The New York Times offers a portrait of American intellectual Gene Sharp highlighting his work on peaceful revolution and how it served as a how-to manual for several uprisings and dissident groups.

Two of our films deal with non-violent uprisings, PEOPLE POWER which includes insights from Gene Sharp himself, and THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONARY HANDBOOK with members of the Serbian group OPTOR.

2010-11-15T13:58:00.002-05:00

Warning about cell phones and brain cancer back in the news

The New York Times reports more studies on the subject.

Our new documentary SURROUNDED BY WAVES, by Jean-Christophe Ribot takes a look at how wireless technology keeps expanding the debate surrounding the health impacts of electromagnetic waves keeps growing. Filmed in France, Israel, Sweden, and the United States, SURROUNDED BY WAVES uses an elegant blend of interviews, archives, experiments and 3D animation to investigate what is known, and unknown, about the potential risks.

2010-10-12T17:11:00.004-04:00

Freud goes to China

As the Western world strays more and more from Freudian therapy, China discovers his method and psychotherapy process. This Washington Post article echoes one of our films, Oedipus in China, about the recent rise of psychotherapy in a society where personal feelings should not be discussed.

2010-09-28T16:47:00.002-04:00

Jewish Activists try to sail to Gaza

The New York Times reported that Jewish peace activists tried to sail to Gaza but were stopped by the Israeli army, among them a well-known Israeli passenger, Rami Elhanan, whose daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Coincidentally the family's story is told in the Icarus documentary- THE BOMBING.

2010-09-08T15:41:00.003-04:00

Sexual Violence as a Weapon in Congo

The New York Times reports that UN officials cited that approximately 500 women were raped in eastern Congo in July and August, demonstrating that both rebel militias and government troops used sexual violence as a weapon.

We are releasing 2 titles this Fall dealing with the current situation in Congo, CONGO IN FOUR ACTS, which is composed of 4 short films including one specifically about violence against women, and STATE OF MIND: HEALING TRAUMA about Albert Pesso, an American psychotherapist who brings his method to Congo to help war victims, including a woman who was held hostage and sexually abused for two years.

2010-09-02T19:33:00.004-04:00

Oil Platform Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico

As another oil related issue hits the Gulf of Mexico, we are once again made aware of the dangers and consequences of this industry on the environment.

Our new acquisition, PETROPOLIS, through aerial perspectives of the Alberta Tar Sands offers an unparalleled view of the world's largest industrial, capital and energy project. Canada's tar sands are an oil reserve the size of England. Extracting the crude oil called bitumen from underneath unspoiled wilderness requires a massive industrialized effort with far-reaching impacts on the land, air, water, and climate.

This title will be available as part of our new Fall slate.

2010-06-07T12:08:00.004-04:00

Indian Court Convicts Eight in Bhopal Disaster

More than 25 years after a plume of toxic gas from an American-owned chemical plant wafted over the slumbering city of Bhopal, killing thousands, eight former executives of the company’s Indian subsidiary were convicted of negligence on Monday, as reported in The New York Times.

The powerful film LITIGATING DISASTER explores how Union Carbide, a company owned by Dow Chemical, successfully manipulated both the US and the Indian legal systems against each other to avoid having to defend its record in the Bhopal plant in court.

2010-05-11T15:52:00.003-04:00

Still up for discussion: Nuclear energy as a green solution

A blog article in the Scientific American re-ignites the debate on nuclear power. For some relevant information on the subject, check our title THE NUCLEAR COMEBACK. Until real green and renewable energies are commonplace, this issue is sure to bring up more discussions.

2010-03-29T17:35:00.003-04:00

Atom Smasher Set for Record Collisions

As reported in The New York Times, the world's largest atom smasher, located near Geneva at the CERN (center for nuclear research), is ready to start a new era of science, colliding beams of protons to learn more about the make up of the universe and its smallest particles.

Filmmaker Samy Brunett is a former employee of the CERN laboratory. For SCIENTISTS AT THE RIM OF REALITY he returns to the lab for an update the quest to understand the universal laws. He finds scientists pushing their machines to the edge of technological feasibility, in search of the 'divine particle,' the Higgs boson, the missing link in the Theory of Everything.

2010-01-12T14:11:00.003-05:00

The Case for Europe

Paul Krugman, professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University and Nobel Prize in Economics, makes a convincing case for the European economic and social model in The New York Times, opposing the conservatives' view that the old continent is not competitive and has lost its economic dynamism. Read his column here.

With America's version of capitalism seemingly heading for bankruptcy, is there a crisis-proof economic model that can shape the 21st century?

In THE WORLD'S NEXT SUPERMODEL, three prominent thinkers argue for competing economic models, including Europe, Asia and Brazil. The proposals for these models are discussed by expert "judges," in a lively debate, examining them on the basis of issues such as social stability, environmental sustainability, government and market relationship, and their crisis-proof nature.

2009-11-09T17:14:00.002-05:00

A book on Heidegger reignites the debate over his political views

As reported in The New York Times, a soon-to-be published book in English has revived the long-running debate about whether the man can be separated from his philosophy. Heidegger's critique of Western thought and technology has penetrated deeply into architecture, psychology and literary theory and inspired some of the most influential intellectual movements of the 20th century. Yet he was also a fervent Nazi.

Coincidentally, we are releasing on Home Video on November 17th our title THE ISTER, a film that takes up some of the most challenging paths in Heidegger's thought.

2009-11-09T16:37:00.003-05:00

Classic works are allowed to rise to their full erotic potential...

An article in the Washington Post about eroticism in art is a very relevant companion to our new release SECRET MUSEUMS. The article includes Marcel Duchamp's work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art currently in exhibition.

2009-10-29T14:52:00.004-04:00

Roy DeCarava, Harlem Insider Who Photographed Ordinary Life, Dies at 89

"It starts before you snap the shutter... It starts with your sense of what's important." These are the words of Roy DeCarava, one of the foremost photographic artists of the twentieth century, contributor to the Family of Man exhibit and the first black photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Mr. DeCarava Passed away on Tuesday in Manhattan as reported in The New York Times.

CONVERSATIONS WITH ROY DECARAVA examines his life and work, and deftly interweaves 108 of DeCarava's black and white stills with a portrait of the artist discussing his life, past struggles, his efforts to foster young black photographers, and the relationship of his work to the black experience in America.

2009-10-23T15:01:00.003-04:00

Food experts worry as hunger grows

An article in The New York Times explains some of the concerns and challenges linked to the developing food crisis.

For more details and some examples on this very timely issue, see our new release SEEDS OF HUNGER.

2009-09-11T17:32:00.003-04:00

Psychological Repercussions of September 11th Attacks

The New York Times reports on the work of therapists and mental health specialists who dealt with the trauma and the methods of treatments that followed the terrorist attacks.

THE HIDDEN FACE OF FEAR tells us the stories of several New Yorkers who were treated after September 11th, and how scientists can now link memory, fear and trauma to particular parts of the brain in order to cure patients.

2009-09-09T10:27:00.004-04:00

September 9, 2009, 8:40 am New York Times
A 'Nuclear Renaissance' Stumbles Forward

Interesting update in the Times today on new projects to expand use of nuclear power, click HERE to read it. This is an issue well explored in our recent (and well reviewed, too) release THE NUCLEAR COMEBACK.

2009-09-08T18:19:00.002-04:00

Our first documentary on Afghanistan now available.

As the war in Afghanistan continues on (for almost 8 years now) we have just recently secured the rights to and are now releasing an intimate new film called WAR AND LOVE IN AFGHANISTAN, by the noted German director, Helga Reidemeister.

2009-08-25T11:56:00.004-04:00

Celebrating the 400 years of Galileo's Telescope

Google made it its homepage graphic for the day and all the news outlets, including The New York Times, are running articles on the revolution that took place 400 years ago and shaped the world as we know it.

Our new Fall release THE MOVING EARTH chronicles these events through the innovative and radical discoveries made by Galileo, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Newton. Stay tuned for more information on this title coming soon!

2009-08-25T11:27:00.004-04:00

Independent Dairy Farmers' Struggle

NPR reports on a major concern related to a staple of the American diet, milk. With the price of raw milk at historic lows, dairy farms are going under across the United States. As the crisis deepens, many blame two dairy giants that they say are trying to monopolize the industry, to the detriment of independent farmers and consumers.

If you are interested in the milk and dairy business issues, you should also see our release MILK IN THE LAND about the history of America's favorite beverage (and how it became such)!

2009-08-21T15:36:00.004-04:00

New York Times special issue on Saving the World's Women

NY Times recent article explores rights of women in the global south, suggesting that aid efforts aimed specifically at improving the lives of women are the most effective in producing positive results both economically and in poltical stability.

Our film, Dishonored, tells the story of Mukhtar Mai, whose demands for justice after being raped, led to an historic series of legal proceedings in Pakistan, and media coverage worldwide.

2009-06-10T17:05:00.004-04:00

Extreme-right British National Party wins two seats at the European Parliament

As European countries are voting to elect their European Parliament representatives, Great Britain is shaken by the victory of far right party BNP, gaining two seats for the first time, as reported by the AFP. The BNP is known for its anti-immigration stance and has been referred to as a racist and fascist organization, even though its leaders deny these accusations.

ALL WHITE IN BARKING offers a snap shot of the current situation in a working class suburb of London where older white residents, including a supporter of the BNP with a mixed-race grandson, learn to live with their new neighbors, immigrants from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Balkans.

2009-04-06T12:48:00.004-04:00

Brain research and memory

The New York Times reports that scientists in Brooklyn, NY are experimenting with a drug that will have the ability to erase specific memories such as traumas and chronic fears.

For an accessible, yet very informative, introduction to the circuitry of the brain and how memory and fear work, THE HIDDEN FACE OF FEAR studies the traumatic impact of 9/ll on New Yorkers featuring interviews with leading researchers, including neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux and Nobel Prize-winning neurobiologist Eric R. Kandel.

2009-04-06T12:14:00.003-04:00

Malls featured in the New York Times

Accompanying an article on the ways malls are trying to stay in business and relevant, The New York Times also features a discussion on deserted malls and their future with, among other contributors, Helene Klodawsky, director of MALLS R US, and Peter Blackbird, founder of deadmall.com, featured in the film.

2009-03-09T14:27:00.005-04:00

A new and timely acquisition

As the words "foreclosure" and "credit crunch" are on everyone's mind and in every other news report, Icarus Films has acquired the documentary WE ALL FALL DOWN: THE AMERICAN MORTGAGE CRISIS, a clear and accessible explanation of what led to the current downfall.

Twelve months in the making, this film documents the evolution of America's mortgage finance from its origins in the 1930s to its recent degeneration into a nationwide pyramid scheme that sparked a global financial collapse.

The DVD is scheduled to be released by April 1, but you can pre-order your copy now!

2009-03-03T15:59:00.004-05:00

Obama and Clinton renew dialogue with Syria

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is sending two senior officials to Syria to begin discussions with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Experts consider Syria to be the key to unlock some of the major challenges in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear threat.

SYRIA: CHESS MATCH AT THE BORDERS offers a close look at the country's history, geography and politics, and what led to its position as a major player and stake in the Middle East.

2009-01-26T17:10:00.003-05:00

Director Ilan Ziv on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Ilan Ziv, director of JESUS POLITICS, released an article with journalist Daoud Kuttab on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and how the region could be saved by an international tribunal.

Click here to read this insightful article.

2008-12-22T17:54:00.004-05:00

Iranian Nobel Winner's Office Shut Down

The Associated Press reports that Iranian authorities shut down the office of a human rights group led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi on Sunday as the group was preparing to honor a political activist who spent 17 years in prison in the Islamic republic.

Learn more about Ebadi and her endeavors in the documentary SHIRIN EBADI, A SIMPLE LAWYER as it features an in-depth interview conducted in her Tehran office, speeches at numerous international conferences, and a visit to the children's center she founded.

2008-12-11T14:22:00.003-05:00

Anand Patwardhan's Statement on the Tragedy in Mumbai

Award-winning Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan released a statement on the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.

Patwardhan has been making political documentaries for nearly three decades. He has relentlessly pursued diverse and controversial issues that are at the crux of social and political life in India.

Read the statement here.

Learn more about Anand Patwardhan's films here.

2008-12-08T17:13:00.005-05:00

An infectious laugh!

The Washington Post reports that scientists have found that happiness is contagious and can spread like a virus. The study was conducted over 20 years on more than 4,700 people and demonstrates that people who are happy or become happy boost the chances that someone they know will be happy.

In HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE?, filmmaker Line Hatland, who admits to not being as happy as she'd like to be, seeks answers to this question by interviewing and showing the work of some of the world's leading researchers on happiness, or "objective well being," including psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists.

2008-10-10T13:54:00.003-04:00

New findings in DNA and forensic science

Reuters reports that DNA fingerprinting could be used to uncover the last name of male suspects or victims in forensic investigations, as men with the same patronym are highly likely to be genetically linked.

TRACKED DOWN BY OUR GENES examines the breakthrough of DNA mapping and how it has ushered in a new age of genetic awareness, with hundreds of companies offering tests to determine ancestry, paternity, and hereditary diseases.

2008-09-02T16:30:00.003-04:00

2008 Presidential Campaign

This month Icarus Films is releasing the film JESUS POLITICS by Ilan Ziv. A very timely and compelling documentary about the prominent role of religion in the 2008 American presidential campaign. Rather than follow the candidates, Ziv decided to meet with religious activists supporting the Democratic and Republican candidates, hence offering a different point of view on the race for the White House.

2008-08-18T19:29:00.002-04:00

INTERNATIONAL / EUROPE August 17, 2008
A Push to Increase Icebreakers in the Arctic
By ANDREW C. REVKIN A growing array of military leaders, Arctic experts and lawmakers say the United States is losing its ability to patrol and safeguard Arctic waters.

We will be releasing a new documentary film STRAIT THROUGH THE ICE on September 2nd which investigates how climate change, and modern icebreakers, are making it possible to open the long-frozen Northwest Passage to international shipping, and what the ecological and geopolitical ramifications might be. Check back in September for more information on this timely film!

2008-05-19T14:26:00.003-04:00

Anniversary of the Catonsville Nine action

NPR remembers the anti Vietnam war protest that took place 40 years ago. On March 17th, 1968, in Catonsville, MD, nine members of the Catholic Church stole hundreds of draft records and set them on fire with homemade napalm. The group came to be known as the Catonsville Nine and later that year was prosecuted and convicted.

INVESTIGATION OF A FLAME is an intimate look at this unlikely, disparate band of resisters who broke the law in a poetic act of civil disobedience.

2008-05-16T14:20:00.005-04:00

Women in Saudi Arabia

A recent article in The New York Times, "Love on Girls' Side of the Saudi Divide", examines the lives of young Saudi women under the strict Islamic laws of their country. With attitudes ranging from rebellious pranks such as dressing as men to venture outside, to an outspoken admiration for their devout brothers and the religious police, these young women offer an interesting portrait of women's place in Saudi society and the effects of the segregation between male and female populations.

In SAUDI SOLUTIONS, filmmaker Bregtje van der Haak, the first Western filmmaker ever granted permission to film the lives of Saudi women, takes us inside this closed society where fewer than five percent of women work. She profiles several women with professional careers and asks them to explain what it means to be a modern woman in a fundamentalist Islamic society.

2008-05-06T11:23:00.002-04:00

Energy at the center of the Pentagon's concerns

The article "The New Geopolitics of Energy" in The Nation highlights how the struggle over energy resources, rather than ideology or politics, has come to dominate the martial landscape and is now the world leaders' main concern.

The film ENERGY WAR reveals precisely how the economic importance of fossil fuels affects international politics and becomes a powerful tool of foreign policy.

2008-04-22T10:26:00.003-04:00

Earth Day 2008

While "green" has become the latest marketing buzz word and Earth Day is celebrated again today, The Washington Post brings up the lack of real changes as US emissions are projected to rise over the next 2 decades. The Guardian environmental blog also raises the question of the relevance of Earth Day and how to prompt lasting lifestyle changes in the general public. Maybe the beginning of an answer can be found in another Guardian article about renewable energy and the Icelandic model.

THE NUCLEAR COMEBACK is the latest Icarus Films release on environmental issues. In a world living in fear of climate change, the nuclear industry is now proposing itself as a solution. Legitimate proposition or preposterous claim? The film goes on a worldwide tour in search of answers, visiting some of the planet's most famous nuclear facilities, including the control room of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

2008-04-17T11:23:00.004-04:00

Beijing's Olympic Stadium, the Bird's Nest, has opened!

The centerpiece of this summer's Olympics has been unveiled to the press yesterday as reported by Reuters via Yahoo.com. This project was developed by Swiss architects Herzog and De Meuron with the help of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. With a bit more than 100 days till the opening ceremony, finishing touches are being completed on the $450 million stadium.

Icarus Films will release in the coming weeks the documentary BIRD'S NEST - HERZOG AND DE MEURON IN CHINA. The film chronicles the development of the Olympic stadium project, exposing complex and often difficult negotiations and communications between two cultures, two architectural traditions and two political systems.

2008-04-14T16:22:00.002-04:00

There's a pill for that!

A Sunday comic strip gives a humorous look on the escalation of drug prescriptions, hence proving the issue is so wide-spread it has become part of our pop culture.

SELLING SICKNESS offers a more serious look at the relationship between drugs and marketing and how the pharmaceutical industry has turned emotions and worries into ailments to treat.

2008-04-14T15:44:00.004-04:00

Shopping for DNA testing in SoHo

The company Navigenics has opened a temporary store in the trendy and luxury brand-friendly SoHo neighborhood hoping to create awareness for their DNA analysis services, reports The New York Times. After parting with $2,500 and a bit of your saliva, you will get a full report on your risks of contracting one of 18 conditions such as cancer, heart attack or Alzheimer's. Navigenics is the latest company to jump into the new lucrative market of genetic testing for consumers.

This new business model is at the heart of TRACKED DOWN BY OUR GENES. The film shows how the scientific breakthrough of DNA mapping is allowing us to trace our ancestors’ footprints, and in a new age of genetic awareness, is generating hundreds of companies offering tests to determine ancestry, paternity, and hereditary diseases.

2008-04-10T10:34:00.004-04:00

Two visionary architects in this month's Vanity Fair

The current "Green Issue" of Vanity Fair magazine profiles two architects and their endeavors to build eco-friendly sustainable buildings and change the way design interacts with the environment.

In the article "Industrial Revolution, Take Two", American architect William McDonough explains his "Cradle to Cradle" philosophy and the concept of "Waste=Food" leading to the idea of a new industrial revolution.

"Natural Phenomenon" explores the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the greenest museum ever built and one of the latest projects by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano.

The films WASTE=FOOD and RENZO PIANO are the ideal companions to these articles.

Through interviews of William McDonough and German ecological chemist Michael Braungart, WASTE=FOOD explores the concept and ideas behind the ecologically inspired new industrial revolution, while as a revealing personal and professional portrait, RENZO PIANO follows three projects at different stages of progress and offers the architect's views on his craft.

2008-03-28T16:46:00.002-04:00

Two Aspects of Dust in the News

While the New York Times wonders if "Star's Dust May Hold Clue to New Planet", the Washington Post warns us on the danger of dust storms blowing around our planet. In both cases, dust is the subject of amazing discoveries by scientists. On one hand, a gap in the dust surrounding a star could bring a new understanding on how planets are formed, on the other hand, the dust circulating around earth could be the sign of a grim future.

The film DUST examines the myriad forms and pathways of dust. It pursues dust to the places where it settles and meets the people who contend with it, including scientists-botanists, biologists, meteorologists, and astronomers.

2008-03-28T15:17:00.006-04:00

And the Pursuit of Happiness...

In its April issue, The New York Review of Books examines the latest (and numerous) books on happiness as well as articles and essays on the subject.

In HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE?, filmmaker Line Hatland, who admits to not being as happy as she'd like to be, seeks answers to this question by interviewing and showing the work of some of the world's leading researchers on happiness, or "objective well being," including psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists.

2008-03-28T14:00:00.004-04:00

Questionable New Trends in Tourism

On March 9th, 2008, an article in The New York Times titled "Slum Visits: Tourism or Voyeurism?" explored the new trend of "slum tours" in developing countries such as India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. This latest offer for adventurous tourists raises questions of voyeurism, exploitation and ethics. Tour operators, however, believe they can create awareness and change people's attitudes towards poverty through these visits. They also claim to be sensitive to the situation and give back to the communities financially through donations, by employing locals and fostering entrepreneurial activities such as the creation and sale of souvenirs.

CAN'T DO IT IN EUROPE portrays another tourism trend related to the desire for "more reality." The film follows a group of international tourists as they visit the mines in Potosi—the poorest city in the poorest nation in Latin America—where Bolivian miners work by hand, just as they did centuries ago, to extract silver from the earth.

2008-03-17T16:22:00.005-04:00

Monks’ Protest of Chinese Rule in Tibet Ends in Violence

On March 10^th, in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, 50 Buddhist monks were arrested by police for organizing a peaceful protest against the religious restrictions applied by the Chinese government. Other protests took place the following days, but on March 14^th, what started out as another demonstration in a market place ended in a deadly riot with shops getting ransacked, cars set on fire and at least 10 people killed, as reported by the New York Times. The causes of this violent outcome are still unclear, sources mention that police started beating up the monks thus enraging the Tibetan population, but Chinese authorities have dismissed these claims. This is the largest Tibetan protest against Chinese rule since 1989.

Luc Schaedler’s film, ANGRY MONK, examines the life and work of Gendun Choephel (1903-1951) a legendary figure in Tibet. Choephel was believed to be the reincarnation of a famous Buddhist lama but he eventually turned his back on monastic life and became a fierce critic of his country's religious conservatism, cultural isolationism and reactionary government.

2008-02-29T17:23:00.003-05:00

Chinatown Counterfeiters Are Back in Business After Police Raid

NYPD and agents from the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement raided three buildings February 26^th, 2008 in what is called the “Counterfeit Triangle” in Chinatown, New York City, seizing an estimated $1 million worth of fake designer items. However, as reported by the NY Daily News on February 27^th, knockoffs of luxury goods were readily available for purchase only a few hours after the raid. Understanding the resilience of the street sellers and how difficult it is to deter them, the authorities have decided to take action against the landlords who have been warned that their tenants were part of illegal activities by trading counterfeited products.

The film KNOCK OFF - REVENGE ON THE LOGO brings us a reflection on branding and globalization through its journey from up the world's longest shopping strip, Broadway.

2008-01-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

Drug Approved for Disease of Questionable Origins

Fibromyalgia, a disease consisting of chronic, vague, and widespread pain, has been a controversial diagnosis. As reported in the New York Times on Monday, some doctors say that it is a response to an emotional disorder which should be treated as such while others claim that it is a legitimate physical disorder and that it should be treated with drugs such as Pfizer's Lyrica.

Lyrica was approved by the FDA for treatment of fibromyalgia last November, despite objections about the severity of its side effects versus its benefits. Since then, sales of the drug have been steadily increasing.

SELLING SICKNESS exposes the unhealthy relationship between society, medical science and the pharmaceutical industry as it promotes not just drugs but also the latest diseases that go with them.

2007-12-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

Make it Right Project for New Construction in New Orleans' Ninth Ward

As reported Monday, December 3 in the New York Times, Brad Pitt recently commissioned thirteen of the country's top architecture firms to design 150 affordable, "green" houses. The houses are to be built over the next two years to house residents displaced over two years ago by Hurricane Katrina. The project is called "Make it Right" and is taking donations from the public online, to be matched, up to $5 million each, by Brad Pitt and the philanthropist Steve Bing.

The team to help with the redevelopment includes William McDonough, one of the two theorists who inspired WASTE = FOOD, a film about major corporations embracing sustainability. Another force involved in the project is Shigeru Ban Architects, whose cheif architect is profiled in SHIGERU BAN.

2007-11-16T17:01:00.000-05:00

Humpback Whale Hunting to Resume in Japan

For the first time since a 1963 moratorium on hunting the animals, the Japanese whaling fleet is soon to launch a large-scale whale-hunt. Although it is ostensibly for scientific purposes, environmental activists plan to track and impair the hunt.

Chris Marker and Mario Ruspoli's THREE CHEERS FOR THE WHALE chronicled the history of mankind's relationship with the largest and most majestic of marine mammals, and graphically exposed their slaughter by the fishing industry in 1973, shortly after the moratorium was effected.

2007-11-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

Concerns Over Global Energy Production Levels

As worldwide demand for oil increses and prices continue to increase accordingly, energy resources are increasingly being used for political leveraging. As reported in the Washington Post on Wednesday, November 14, as governments gain increasing revenues from oil drilling, they also gain increasing bargaining power with the private companies who drill for the oil. This often forces production at below capacity as the private companies simply cannot afford to pay the prices asked by the governments with control of oil producing countries. Because of the decreased production, it appears that within a few years, as energy demand from developing countries increases, the supply will no longer be able to meet demand or the high prices will have to dampen the demand.

ENERGY WAR is a global investigation into the geopolitical dynamics of the world's oil supply. It explores how the governments which control most of the oil are wielding their power on the world stage.

2007-10-11T17:03:00.000-04:00

Calls for Burial of Lenin's Body

Yahoo! News reports that a referendum is being called for to determine whether the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, housed in a mausoleum in Red Square for more than 80 years, should be removed and buried. Since the fall of the Soviet government, top officials such as Vladimir Putin have been calling for consideration of whether the shrine to the Bolshevik revolutionary is appropriate.

FOREVER LENIN focuses on the reasons behind and the process of embalming Lenin as well as the maintenance required for the body and budgetary problems plaguing it today.

2007-10-05T16:48:00.000-04:00

College Paper Editor's Ethics Questioned Nationally

After publishing a vulgar comment aimed at President Bush in an editorial column in The Rocky Mountain Collegian, the paper's editor in chief, J. David McSwane was called to a formal hearing. As a question of free speech versus a violation of the paper's code of ethics, the incident is bringing national attention, the controversy even being covered in the New York Times.

A new documentary about a year of publishing one of the nations leading student newspapers, THE PAPER depicts challenges and issues facing college journalists from ethics to access to news sources.

2007-10-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

New Study on Link Between Happiness and Contentment

Shankar Vedantam in the Washington Post on October 1st discusses a new study concerning the effect of positive and negative events on people reporting being "generally happy". A high level of happiness, the article reports, causes an increase in expected happiness and thereby diminishing returns from positive events and increased disappointment in negative events. The article also discusses possible cultural links to attitudes toward happiness as well as genetic predisposition to this condition.

For more information on genetic and cultural links to happiness as well as further discussion on causes of happiness, watch HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE? by Line Hatland.

2007-08-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

Arrests in Anna Politkovskaya's Murder

The Russian journalist is featured in DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE, and we have been following the case of her murder closely. The Associated Press reports that "Russia on Monday announced that 10 people have been arrested in the killing of journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya, including law enforcement officers and a Chechen crime boss accused of organizing the slaying."

2007-07-31T10:11:00.000-04:00

The Price of Food Aid in Kenya

As US Congress debates a revised farm bill, poor, hungry farmers in Africa who were promised food for work on an irrigation project are awaiting payment that may never come. The New York Times reports that the Bush administration is advocating allowing purchase of food in foreign countries, to deliver aid quickly and give a boost to local economies. But opposition from agricultural states is firm to the current policy of only shipping US food, which benefits American farmers and shipping interests. The impasse leaves hundreds of thousands hungry and dying.

THE PRICE OF AID goes in depth to the bureaucratic process of US food aid policy.

2007-07-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

Rearming Japan

The NY Times reports that the militarization of Japan is continuing with recent practice bombing of a tiny island in the Pacific. Japan's pacifist constitution bans offensive military action but slowly the country's leadership has turned the tides of public opinion. JAPAN'S PEACE CONSTITUTION explores in depth the political maneuvering that continues.

The article also notes that while the rearming of the country might be understandable given current potential threats, it is "causing anxieties in a region where distrust of Japan has deepened in direct proportion to Japanese tendencies to revise the past," including the massacre of China's capital, Nanjing in 1937, and its wartime sexual slavery. SENSO DAUGHTERS is made by a Japanese filmmaker who reveals this history through eyewitness testimony, which stands in stark contrast to the Japanese denial.

2007-07-23T10:40:00.000-04:00

Golden Lion Goes to Malick Sidebé

According to BBC News, Venice Biennale's prestigious Golden Lion lifetime achievement award has been presented to a photographer for the first time, Malick Sidibé from Mali. "Organisers of the Biennale said Sidibe was 'the signal portraitist of his city and nation and the intimate observer of the Malian musical scene.'" For more on Sidibé, check out Susan Vogel's MALICK SIDIBÉ.

2007-07-17T10:24:00.000-04:00

Israel set to release 250 Palestinian prisoners

Nearly 11,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. Israel considers them security threats while Palestinians view the imprisonments as political. This week, BBC News reports Israel will release 250 prisoners as a goodwill gesture toward negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, an emergency government set up in response to the popular election of Hamas, which is widely regarded as a terrorist organization.

HOTHOUSE by Shimon Dotan goes inside some of these highest security prisons in Israel to reveal first-hand the stories of men and women being held.

2007-07-11T13:11:00.000-04:00

10 Million Refugees in the World

Ben Harper of the AP reports on Israel's recent struggle with Sudanese refugees escaping the genocide in Darfur and trekking through Egypt and the Sinai desert to enter Israel, a country without mechanisms for harboring the refugees. WAITING by Marie-Claude Harvey chronicles the situation in Sudan in the early days which has gotten worse, with now nearly 2.5 million who have fled the violence in Sudan.

This news follows on the heels of World Refugee Day on June 20th when the United Nations refugee agency reported there are nearly 10 million refugees world-wide.

2007-07-03T13:42:00.000-04:00

Reverend Billy Arrested

Profiled in CULTUREJAM, Reverend Billy is a long-time performance activist as the head of The Church of Stop Shopping. Taking his unique blend of evangelist preacher and anti-consumer culture message to a recent Critical Mass gathering of bicycle enthusiasts in New York City's Union Square, the Reverend was arrested reading the First Amendment into a bullhorn. The police site harassment as the charge. Tom Hayes reports on the story for the Associated Press, NYC Man held for reciting 1st Amendment.

2007-06-27T14:30:00.001-04:00

Japan Refuses Apology to Comfort Women

Gathering steam in the US Congress, a recent non-binding resolution passed the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that asks Japan to acknowledge and apologize for drafting women into sexual service during WWII. It will move on to a vote in the House and is expected to pass. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promoted "historical amnesia" (Norimitsu Onishi in the NY Times), refusing to issue any apologies regardless of any Congressional resolution.

SENSO DAUGHTERS by Noriko Sekiguchi offers powerful testimony from women who lived through it. The film caused an uproar when it came out because Sekiguchi, Japanese herself, not only condemns the abuse but the society that continues to deny it happened.

2007-05-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

Independent Journalists in Russia (or lack of)

Anna Politkovskaya was an independent journalist working in Russia reporting mostly on the conflict with Chechnya. Her writing frequently condemned the government and police for corruption. She was assassinated in 2006 and her murder, among many murders of journalists there, remains unsolved. As reported in the Times, Colleagues Honor Slain Russian Journalist With a Book and Demand Justice, her son Ilya, former editor Dmitri Murtov and Mikhail Gorbachev, owner of the paper she wrote for, Novaya Gazeta, have released a volume of Politkovskaya's writings in an effort to renew attention to the shrinking voices of independents in Russia.

DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE explores working reporters, including Politkovskaya before her death, working around the world as they defend journalistic principles against commercial pressures, deal with censorship or government constraints, as well as dangerous and even life-threatening conditions.

2007-05-23T11:33:00.000-04:00

Shigeru Ban - "The Accidental Environmentalist"

Michael Kimmelman reports recently on the work of architect Shigeru Ban, calling him an "accidental environmentalist," as Ban's use of recycled, easily available and inexpensive building materials has been part of his repertoire since long before it was cool to be "green." From temporary housing for refugees in Rwanda and later for victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake and later in Turkey, to multi -million dollar corporate buildings such as a new Swatch office building in Ginza and a new design that will sit on New York City's West Side highway next to Frank Gehry's recent contribution, Ban maintains his commitment to thrift.

SHIGERU BAN, a film by Michel Quinejure, goes in depth with Ban through interviews and tours of his most significant structures to reveal that an emphasis on issues of conservation, economy, and accessibility does not necessarily involve a sacrifice in architectural beauty.

2007-05-15T11:23:00.000-04:00

Going Underground to Discover the Universe's Origins

The New York Times reports today that the world's largest particle accelerator, being built 300 feet underground in Switzerland, is nearing completion. After 13 years under construction, it could be done in just 3 years. "A Giant Takes on Physic's Biggest Questions" by Dennis Overby explores how such a span of time might seem long, but the discoveries that the Large Hadron Collider, based at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland, might yield could lead scientists to understand the origins of the universe.

Filmmaker Samy Brunett is a former employee CERN laboratory where the accelerator is being built, and he returned to make SCIENTISTS AT THE RIM OF REALITY. The film is an insider's guide to the project that could provide huge discoveries shortly.

2007-05-14T17:39:00.000-04:00

Early Eugenics Theorist In the News

Cesare Lombroso, an Italian criminologist who died in 1909, believed that criminality could be identified by physical characteristics. In keeping with his popular early eugenics theory, Giovanni Passannante's skull and brains were kept preserved and on display in a criminology museum in Rome until recently when activists sought to have his remains buried. Passannante was an anarchist who tried to assassinate King Umberto I of Savoy in 1878. Read the full story by Peter Kiefer from the weekend edition of The New York Times. Interested in the history of pseudosciences like eugenic and physiognomics? THE FACE OF EVIL examines this history of attempting to identify and categorize the physiognomy of evil through physical traits.

2007-04-09T11:04:00.000-04:00

US Economic Policy Hinders Food Aid

As reported in a recent NY Times article, Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of U.S. Food Aid by Celia W. Dugger, the delivery of food to starving people can take 4 to 6 weeks because government policy requires that all donated food be grown in the U.S. and shipped to where it is needed. This stimulates American agribusiness and shipping, but there are no provisions for emergencies like the current situation in Zambia where the UN's World Food Program that delivers the food to the needy is dangerously low in supplies. Those who are starving may die before the aid reaches them.

THE PRICE OF AID explores the relationships and policies that make up current United States food aid program. With interviews from Zambian officials, nonprofit aid workers and U.S. government officials, the film is an in-depth exploration of this continuing problem.

2007-04-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

The Bible Unearthed

Egypt's chief archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass recently took journalists on a tour of a newly unearthed military fort foundation in Egypt's North Sanai region. As reported by Michael Slackman in the NY Times yesterday, Did the Red Sea Part? No Evidence, Archaeologists Say, the find is significant because it is the oldest fort on the Horus military road and pieces of volcanic rock confirm an eruption in 1500 B.C. But on the eve of Passover, the reporters preferred to question Hawass about the veracity of the Exodus story which is set in this part of the world.

THE BIBLE UNEARTHED is a 4-part series that delves into current Biblical archaeological evidence and its correspondence (or not) to the ancient texts. Episode 2 of the series specifically investigates history of the Exodus. Of the series, Dr. Jim West of Biblical Studies Resources says, "A genuine work of scholarship as well as film art...These 4 episodes are excellent...It is the best done of all its genre that I have yet seen."

2007-03-26T12:52:00.001-04:00

Mies Masterpiece in Dispute

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose life and work are the subject of the award-winning REGULAR OR SUPER, is one of the world's most influential architects. One of his early and perhaps best known creations, the Tugendhat House in the Czech Republic, which has been designated a World Heritage site, remains at the center of a dispute between the former owners, a Jewish family forced to abandon their home in 1938 and the current owner, the city of Brno, over who will serve as custodian and see the house through costly but necessary renovation. A recent New York Times article outlines the arguments on both sides, though all agree that the precious monument to the modernist architectural tradition, which continues to deteriorate, is of the utmost importance.

2007-01-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

Opposing the Kremlin?

A recent spate of high-profile assassinations of Russians, including journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was shot outside her home and ex K.G.B agent-in-exile Alexander Litvinenko, done in by a lethal dose of radioactive polonium 210, are the subject of a new New Yorker article by Michael Specter, Kremlin, Inc.: Why are Vladimir Putin's opponents dying? Tania Rakhmanova’s new film HOW PUTIN CAME TO POWER explores the meteoric rise to power of this once unknown F.S.B. (the modern K.G.B.) agent and sets the stage for the Specter’s investigation of Putin’s current administration.

2007-01-17T12:57:00.000-05:00

The Hottentot Venus Revisited

Sara Baartman, also known as "The Hottentot Venus," was a young Khoi Khoi woman taken from her home in South Africa to be crudely prodded and exhibited as a sideshow attraction in Britain in the early 1800's. Her life is the subject of a new book, "African Queen: The Real Life of the Hottentot Venus" by Rachel Holmes just released by Random House. Caroline Elkins, the Hugo K. Foster associate professor of African studies at Harvard, reviewed the book in this Sunday's New York Times noting, "The story of Saartjie Baartman — the Hottentot Venus’s real name — is inherently fascinating, and littered with a diverse cast of highly unlikable characters."

Learn more about Baartman in Zola Maseko's multiple award-winning doc, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SARA BAARTMAN. Called "telling and quite powerful" by the American Historical Review, the film explores Baartman's life and the legacy of racism and sexism her exploitation represented, which lived on for over a century after her death. And following up the first film, Maseko returned to Baartman’s story when French senator Nicolas About introduced a law to repatriate Baartman’s remains to South Africa chronicled in THE RETURN OF SARA BAARTMAN.

2007-01-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

Japan’s Neonationalist Offensive and the Military

As reported on japanfocus.org, when Abe Shinzo was installed as prime minister of Japan in September 2006, there was some concern that he would push the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s proposal to revise Japan’s constitution and gut the no-war provisions of Article 9. But his "go slow approach" has reassured Japan’s neighbors, while masking a very ambitious agenda.

The acclaimed recent release JAPAN'S PEACE CONSTITUTION is a timely, hard-hitting documentary places the ongoing debate over the constitution in an international context: What will revision mean to Japan's neighbors, Korea and China? How is the unprecedented involvement of Japan's Self-Defense Force in the occupation of Iraq perceived in the Middle East?

2006-12-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

Famous Street Art "Canvas" Has Last Hurrah

The New York Times reports, "Depending on your point of view, the hulking 19th-century brick building at 11 Spring Street in NoLIta [New York City], a former stable and carriage house, was either a stunning eyesore or one of the most famous canvases and lodestars in the world for urban artists. When those of the latter view heard recently that the building had been sold and would soon be gutted and converted into condominiums, they considered it the end of an era.

11 Spring Street is featured extensively in our film TO BE SEEN, which examines the roll street art plays in urban culture, commercial culture, and the art world. Additionally, THE CASE OF THE GRINNING CAT, a new Chris Marker film that looks at a street art phenomenon in Paris, opens theatrically on December 20.

2006-12-04T16:39:00.000-05:00

Lebanese Singer Brightens a Dark Time in Beirut

As reported in the New York Times, the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz was performing in Beirut again at last. As she stepped onto the stage, some in the audience cried and others cheered. In recent days fears that civil war might return have swirled. All the while, Beirutis of every sectarian stripe seemed to agree on this: Fairuz must sing as planned.

In the Arab world, the emotional resonance this diva commands is difficult to overstate. From Damascus to Ramalla to Amman, Fairuz’ unmistakable deep, quavering tones echo remind people of the long-lost rhythms of village life and the longer-lost, golden years of peace.

Our intimate film WE LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH portrays the love Beirut inhabitants have for this diva. Their reminiscences, combined with Fairuz' songs and her story, provide a moving commentary on Lebanon's tumultuous history.

2006-11-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Amateur Videos and Human Rights

As reported in the Washington Post, the digital revolution is helping to throw light into some of the world's darkest corners. Ordinary people going about their daily lives are now the first to document historic events. The photos at Abu Ghraib prison taken on soldiers' personal digital cameras, vacationers recorded the first images of the 2004 tsunami, London commuters provided cellphone photos used to investigate the July 2005 bombings on the transit system, and cellphone images were among the first glimpses of the recent coup in Thailand.

This development was first documented in our acclaimed release SEEING IS BELIEVING: Handicams, Human Rights and the News. Available on DVD with many bonus features including a Study Guide, this film crosses the world tracking media activists to look at what happens when regular people use camcorders to document what they see. What are the risks and responsibilities? What are the wider impacts on television, audiences, and society?

2006-11-01T12:15:00.000-05:00

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Reelected

As reported by Reuters (via Yahoo News), after being carried to re-election by his popularity with the poor, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is striving to reassure the business community he will not abandon market-friendly policies to create jobs and boost income.

Lula's balancing act between his political base and the economic and political elite is aptly captured in the documentary LULA'S BRAZIL, which as it tells of his rise to power also examines the achievements as well as the failures of his presidency compared to his campaign promises, revealing how his ambitious plans have been frustrated by a clash with national and international economic interests.

2006-10-09T17:41:00.000-04:00

Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya Slain

The newspaper where slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya worked has offered almost $1 million for information leading to her killers amid widespread international condemnation of the murder. A gunman shot Politkovskaya, one of President Vladimir Putin's strongest critics, four times as she brought her shopping home to her Moscow apartment on Saturday evening. The 48-year-old mother-of-two died on the spot.

DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE is a documentary about the danger and other challenges faced by journalists across the world, and journalists' essential role in democracy, features a 20 minute segment on Politkovskaya. It is now being released in honor of Politkovskaya's courageous work.

2006-09-21T17:46:00.001-04:00

Shinzo Abe Almost Certainly Japan's Next PM

The Washington Post reported that the nationalist who has pledged to make Japan a more robust force on the world stage, Shinzo Abe, won the contest to become leader of Japan's ruling party Wednesday, all but clinching election as prime minister next week. Abe favors revising Japan's peace constitution.

2006-09-05T13:19:00.000-04:00

Japan’s Likely Next Premier in Hawkish Stand

As reported in the New York Times, Shinzo Abe, the nationalist politician who is expected to become Japan's next prime minister, said that Japan should revise the pacifist Constitution imposed on it by the United States. He made the statement as he formally declared his candidacy for the presidency of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, a post that would give him the prime ministership.

The acclaimed recent release JAPAN'S PEACE CONSTITUTION is a timely, hard-hitting documentary places the ongoing debate over the constitution in an international context: What will revision mean to Japan's neighbors, Korea and China? How has the US-Japan military alliance warped the constitution and Japan's role in the world? How is the unprecedented involvement of Japan's Self-Defense Force in the occupation of Iraq perceived in the Middle East?

2006-08-30T11:13:00.000-04:00

Peru Gold Mine Shut by Farmer Protests

As reported on Yahoo News and elsewhere, production at Latin America's largest gold mine was at a standstill Tuesday amid mounting criticism from Peru's business sector over the government's refusal to remove farmers blockading the facility's access road. The farmers, meanwhile, insisted that their protest is over alleged depletion and pollution of water supplies and not because they want Yanacocha to provide them jobs, as the company maintains. Officials with the Yanacocha gold mine, majority owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., announced the shutdown late Monday, saying operations were impossible.

Our critically-acclaimed, award-winning film CHOROPAMPA: THE PRICE OF GOLD portrays the aftermath of a devastating mercury spill at Yanacocha that contaminated the village of Choropampa. The environmental catastrophe turned this quiet village into a hotbed of civil resistance.

2006-08-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

Under One Roof, Trial, Penalty and Civics Lesson

The New York Times published a long feature article by Michael Wilson about Red Hook Community Justice Center. Now six years old, the court in Red Hook, Brooklyn is one of a kind, the nation’s first multijurisdictional community court. It combines elements of criminal, family and housing courts not only under the same roof, but also before the same judge, Alex M. Calabrese.

Our acclaimed release RED HOOK JUSTICE was filmed over the course of nearly two years, as the filmmakers were granted unique access to film the daily activities of the Red Hook Community Justice Center, for in-depth look at the defendants and staff who are part of this increasingly influential experiment.

2006-08-07T12:39:00.000-04:00

Iran Bans Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi's Rights Group

As reported on Yahoo News and around the world, Iran has declared as "illegal" a human rights group headed by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and vowed to prosecute its continued activities. But Ebadi, quoting Iran's constitution, responded that her center did not require a permit.

The acclaimed documentary SHIRIN EBADI: A SIMPLE LAWYER is an in-depth profile of the groundbreaking attorney, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her tireless fight for democracy and human rights, in particular the struggle for the rights of women and children.

2006-08-02T10:25:00.001-04:00

Russia's Hermitage Says Staff Took Part in $4.9 Million Theft

As reported on Bloomberg news and elsewhere, Russia's Hermitage Museum, which houses one of the world's largest collections of western European art, said staff members were involved in the theft of 221 exhibits worth 130 million rubles ($4.9 million).

Our acclaimed, award-winning documentary THE HERMITAGE DWELLERS as much about the people who work in Russia's renowned museum as it is about the glorious art housed in this St. Petersburg institution. We meet with several "Hermitage-niks" -- including Olga Bogdanova, the head of museum maintenance, icon curator Alexandra Kostsova, museum attendant Valentina Barbashova, and art handler Vadim Kuptsov, among others -- each of whom explains their own very personal reasons for considering the palace of Catherine the Great their "home."

2006-07-20T17:25:00.000-04:00

Criminal Justice in the News

As reported on CNN, James Crosby, the former head of Florida’s Department of Corrections (DOC) who was fired by Governor Jeb Bush in February after the string of scandals involving brutality, sex abuse, and corruption, has pleaded guilty to accepting over $100,000 in kickbacks. Our acclaimed film AMERICA'S BRUTAL PRISONS features stories about of Florida guards drenching inmates with burning pepper spray, kicking a prisoner to death, and testimony from a female guard who claims sexual assault and harassment by fellow guards. Crosby ran the prison in which the aforementioned man was kicked to death--after which he was promoted to run the entire DOC.

And, The Chicago Tribune reported that the infamous Burge Report was finally published. It stated that former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge led the torture of criminal suspects for two decades, coercing dozens of confessions with fists, kicks, radiator burns, guns to the mouth, bags over the head and electric shock to the genitals. Our film THE END OF THE NIGHTSTICK was an early investigation into these charges of institutional racism, torture and the cover-up, and also tells the story of a resistance movement, as local activist groups, including the Task Force to Confront Police Violence, refuse to let testimonies of police violence remain buried.

2006-05-23T17:22:00.000-04:00

Chicago's Burge Report To Go Public

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cook County Judge Paul Biebel Jr., who launched a probe into allegations of torture by former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge and officers under him, ruled Friday that a report prepared by special prosecutors should be made public. In the mid-'70s through early '80s the Chicago police used electroshock, oxygen deprivation, hanging on hooks, the bastinado and beatings of the testicles. The torturers were white, and their victims black or brown.

Our long-popular film THE END OF THE NIGHTSTICK investigates the torture, institutional racism, violence and cover-up. It also tells the story of a Chicago grassroots movement that refused to let testimonies of police violence remain buried.

2006-04-11T14:32:00.000-04:00

Mafia "Boss of All Bosses" Captured in Italy

As reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, Bernardo Provenzano, the alleged boss of all bosses of the Sicilian mafia, was arrested near Corleone, Italy after 43 years on the run. Under the heavy hand of Mr. Provenzano , the Corleonese family dominated organized crime in Sicily for 30 years, and mounted an attack on the state that culminated in the 1992 murders of top anti-Mafia prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and their bodyguards, in separate attacks.

Our 2006 release EXCELLENT CADAVERS (U.S. Theatrical Premiere July 12) -- a powerful, mind-boggling documentary -- is based on the eponymous book by Alexander Stille about the Sicilian Mafia, Falcone and Borsellino. Their work galvanized public outrage as Mafia foot soldiers testified in court that they threw bodies into vats of acid to liquefy them. The violence they described was embodied by the no-holds-barred photographs of death in the streets, made by Letizia Battaglia, who appears in the film.

2006-03-31T14:56:00.000-05:00

Guinea Worm Disease on Verge of Oblivion

As reported in the International Herald Tribune, thanks to a relentless, 20-year campaign led by former President Jimmy Carter, Guinea worm is poised to become the first disease since smallpox to be pushed into oblivion. Fewer than 12,000 cases were found last year, down from three million in 1986.

The campaign to eradicate Guinea worm has been one of the most important international public health successes of the 20th century. The documentary GUINEA WORM takes us inside the multi-pronged fight against the disease. From the strategic planning level involving the World Health Organization and President Jimmy Carter; to governments' involvement in implementing plans for their countries; to the actual field doctors and villagers who are the "last battleground," GUINEA WORM is a case study of a hugely successful, major health initiative at work in the third world.

2006-03-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

Muslim Pilgrims Face Attack in Iraq

Shia Muslim pilgrims on the road to the holy city of Kerbala faced a highway of bullets and bombs for intended for them on Friday, as reported on Yahoo News and elsewhere. Why do the pilgrims risk their lives to make this journey? What are the roots of these religious sojourns? And what is it like to make this pilgrimmage?

In 2004, following a 30-year moratorium during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, Iraq's Shiite Muslim population were free to commemorate Ashura, the most important holy day on the Shiite calendar. Shia adherents from throughout the Mideast made the pilgrimage to Kerbala, Iraq's Holy City, to visit the tomb of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas. In THE ROAD TO KERBALA, filmmaker Katia Jarjoura joins the procession with Hamid el Mokhtar, a Shi'ite poet and novelist imprisoned during Saddam's regime.

SHI'ISM: WAITING FOR THE HIDDEN IMAM illuminates the historical roots of this branch of Islam with a blend of contemporary and historical footage, interviews with Muslim scholars, philosophers, writers, politicians and religious leaders in Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, and visits Shia holy sites, including the Tomb of Imam Hussein in Kerbala.

2006-03-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

U.S. Troop Increase in Iraq During
Shi'ite Holiday Pilgrimage Surge

As reported in today's New York Times and elsewhere, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld gave a strong hint that American troop levels in Iraq might be increased in coming days to help protect a surge of Shi'ite pilgrims expected to visit Muslim shrines in coming weeks. The holiday pilgrimages are to holy sites in Najaf and Kerbala, predominantly Shiite areas where the potential for sectarian violence would be of great concern.

Two recent releases provide crucial background information about Shi'ite muslims: their beliefs (including holidays) and motivations. SHI'ISM travels across Iran, Lebanon and Iraq a cross-section of major contemporary Shiite figures discuss and debate the history, theology and values of this minority branch of Islam. In THE ROAD TO KERBALA filmmaker Katia Jarjoura joins pilgrims on the 100-kilometer walk from Baghdad to Kerbala.

2006-03-01T12:14:00.000-05:00

President Bush in India, Mass Protests Ensue

As reported on CNN: 100,000 protestors chanted anti-U.S. slogans and burned American flags in New Delhi to protest President George W. Bush's first trip to the nation. "Whether Hindu or Muslim, the people of India have gathered here to show our anger. We have only one message, killer Bush go home," one of the speakers, Hindu politician Raj Babbar, told the crowd.

The Oxford Press reports that, in some strange irony, Bush will stop at Rajghat, the site of the cremation of Mahatma Gandhi, and during this same trip the two countries are working out under which India would buy nuclear fuel from the U. S. Our epic film WAR AND PEACE, the most recent film from Anand Patwardhan (India's leading documentarian), is framed by the 1948 murder of Gandhi. As a child, Patwardhan was immersed in the non-violent Gandhian movement, and because of this WAR AND PEACE examines India's militarism with sorrow, although along the way the film captures joyful stories of courage and resistance.

In today's Guardian, Booker Prize winning writer Arundhati Roy has a piece "Baby Bush Go Home" in which she addresses this visit. In DAM/AGE, our film about Roy's bold campaign against the Narmada dam project, she challenges the idea that only experts can speak out on such urgent matters as nuclear war, the privatization of India's power supply by Enron and issues like Narmada.

2006-02-08T13:31:00.000-05:00

Japan's Constitution and Tension with China in the News

Are China and Japan on a collision course? An article by Wieland Wagner in der Spiegel discusses the recent increase in age-old distrust between the two countries . In the near future, the governing Liberal Democrats in Japan want to change the pacifist post-War constitution - and they have the backing of the opposition.

Through interviews conducted with leading thinkers around the world our New Release JAPAN'S PEACE CONSTITUTION explores the origins of the Constitution in the ashes of war, and the significance of its peace clauses in the conflicted times of the early 21st century.

In an online piece from the AP via Yahoo! News, the film's Oscar-nominated director warns of Japan military resurgence. Japan's plans to change its pacifist constitution could rekindle historical animosities in Asia and lead to another war in the region. JAPAN'S PEACE CONSTITUTION is thus also a reminder of the mistrust that still runs deep in much of Asia over Tokyo's militaristic past, and the potential backlash against any resurgence of that militarism.