[Peace-discuss] Co-Sponsor Request: 4th IDF Human Rights Film Series

[Jen Tayabji]

Dear AWARE,

I am contacting you to request the co-sponsorship of your organization for
an upcoming event at the Illinois Disciples Foundation.

It is my pleasure to announce that the Illinois Disciples Foundation (IDF)
will soon begin our 4th Human Rights Film Series.  The series will present
important documentary films dealing with issues of human rights and social
justice.  This fall films will confront issues ranging from the continuing
war in Iraq and the growing veteran's anti-war movement to the
humanitarian crisis in Sudan, political struggles in Venezuela and the
history of activism in the U.S.

These films will be presented to the public, free of charge, on evenings
in late September and October at the Illinois Disciples Foundation.  In
addition, the films will be presented by local activists and community
members who will moderate discussions about the issues presented in the
films with the people who come to the viewings.

IDF is very excited about this event, which has grown in popularity since
we began the series three years ago.  We hope that you will join the IDF
in supporting this wonderful event for the community, and publicize the
series to your members and supporters.  The film series will run on
Thursday evenings, beginning at 7pm at the IDF, from 9/29 to 10/20.

Please respond to this message by Friday, September 23rd if your
organization would like to lend its name in co-sponsorship to the IDF's
4th Human Rights Film Series.  Offers of co-sponsorship submitted after
the 23rd will still be accepted, but may not make it onto all the advance
publicity.  Although a suggested monetary donation of $25 is not required
for co-sponsorship, we at IDF appreciate any additional support that you
are willing to give.  Feel free to contact me for more information about the
film series.

Read below for more complete information about the films, dates, and
showing information!

Thanks,
Jen and Aaron

***

IDF Human Rights Film Series Fall 2005


"Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train"

Thursday, September 29th, 7-9pm
Link: http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/howardzinn.html
Description: Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train documents
the life and times of the historian, activist and author of the best
selling classic A People’s History of the United States. Featuring rare
archival materials, interviews with Howard Zinn as well as colleagues and
friends including Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg,
Tom Hayden and Alice Walker, You Can't Be Neutral captures the essence of
this activist and thinker who has been a catalyst for progressive change
for more than 60 years. As Noam Chomsky said of him, "it is no
exaggeration to say he has changed the consciousness of a generation."

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"

Thursday, October 6th, 7-9pm
Link: http://www.chavezthefilm.com
Description: Hugo Chavez, elected president of Venezuela in 1998, is a
colorful, unpredictable folks hero, beloved by his nation's working class
and a tough-as-nails, quixotic opponent to the power structure that would
see him deposed. Two independent filmmakers were inside the presidential
palace on April 11, 2002, when he was forcibly removed from office. They
were also present 48 hours later when, remarkably, he returned to power
amid cheering aides. Their film records what was probably history's
shortest-lived coup d'état. It's a unique document about political muscle
and an extraordinary portrait of the man The Wall Street Journal credits
with making Venezuela "Washington‚s biggest Latin American headache after
the old standby, Cuba."

"Lost Boys of Sudan"

Thursday, October 13th, 7-9pm
Link: http://www.lostboysfilm.com
Description: Lost Boys of Sudan is a feature-length documentary that
follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to
America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars,
Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to
reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From
there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from
physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves
confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American
suburbia.

"Operation Veteran Freedom"

Link: http://www.operationveteranfreedom.com
Description: In March 2005 thousands of people assembled outside Ft.
Bragg, North Carolina, the largest Army installation in the world, to
protest two years of U.S. occupation in Iraq. War supporters denounced
them as, "dirty, hippy, commie, pinkos," but the truth paints a far
different picture. The group was primarily veterans and family members of
soldiers who had fought and died in the war-torn regions of the Middle
East. They belonged to organizations like Veterans for Peace, Viet Nam
Veterans Against the War, Gold Star Families for Peace, and Military
Families Speak Out.
    A young group of veterans, reservists, and active-duty military
personnel
who had served in some of the deadliest combat zones of Iraq and
Afghanistan led this demonstration in a morning march through the city
streets. Soldiers stationed at Ft. Bragg left base against the orders of
their commanding officers and joined their fellow GIs in expressing their
resentment toward the war.  The following day a newly formed organization
named "Iraq Veterans Against the War" held its first national meeting.
This event marked the beginning of an organized GI resistance against the
Gulf War.
    Operation: Veteran Freedom chronicles the events that led to this first
national meeting and provides a rare view of the inner battles that faced
these veterans upon their return home from the combat zone.