[Peace-discuss] FW: Co-sponsor IDF's Spring '07 Human Rights Film Series

Sat Feb 3 23:02:58 CST 2007

Would AWARE be interested in cosponsoring IDF's upcoming Human Rights Film
Series?

See email below for more info.

Thanks,
Jen

______________________________________

Dear Organizational Representative:

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 Spring Human Rights Film Series. The series will
present important documentary films dealing with issues of human rights
and social, environmental and economic justice. This semester's films will
confront issues ranging from the profiteering of war, the effects of
modern agro-business economics on world hunger, the declining quality of
higher education, and alternative energy technologies.

These films will be presented to the public, free of charge, on Thursday
evenings in February and March 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 in 2003. In that time the series has expanded from an
annual event to now a semi-annual event. We hope that you will join the
IDF in supporting this wonderful event for the community by agreeing to
co-sponsor. We also hope you will organize your members and supporters to
participate and help to spread the word in the community.

In addition, in order to more easily present these wonderful,
thought-provoking films to the community, the Illinois Disciples
Foundation has recently purchased it's own video projector and
high-quality screen. We believe this is an important investment for us and
the community, but this has required a large cash outlay on our part.
Whatever donations you could make in addition to your name co-sponsorship
would go a long way to help us defray our costs. We hope you realize that
this is not just a great resource for us, but for all of us working for
peace and social justice in this community, and we hope in the future you
can suggest films for us to show with this great new resource. Whatever
monetary support you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Please respond to this message by Wednesday, February 7th if your
organization would like to lend its name in co-sponsorship to the IDF's
Spring Human Rights Film Series. Although a monetary donation is not
required for co-sponsorship, we at IDF appreciate any support that you are
willing to give. We will continue to accept co-sponsorships after the Feb.
6th deadline, but your organization may not be listed in the early
publicity. If we receive your co-sponsorship late we will make sure you
are listed on all subsequent publicity materials.

Please send your responses to Aaron Smith at redherng at shout.net or call
the IDF office at 352-8721. Feel free to contact me for more information
about the film series.

Read below this e-mail for more complete information about the films,
dates, and event information, some information is subject to change.

More detailed information will be available in the coming weeks. I hope to
hear from you soon, and I hope you will help us with this important event.

In Solidarity,
Aaron Smith
IDF Assistant Director

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Declining By Degrees (2005) – Screening February 22nd, 2007 at 7pm 120
minutes

At a time when a college education is vital to an individual's future and
our nation's economic standing in the world, "Declining By Degrees: Higher
Education at Risk," a two-hour documentary airing on PBS, explores the
simple yet significant question: What happens between admission and
graduation? The answer: often not enough.

With more than 14 million students at 4,200 colleges, serious questions
are being raised about the quality of teaching and learning, retention and
graduation rates and the skills of those students who earn their diploma.
As Lara Couturier, a higher education consultant explains, "There's been
report after report and commission after commission formed of business
leaders who are calling out to higher education and saying 'We need to
change the system. We are not satisfied with the level of skills that our
employees are showing up with.'"

"Declining by Degrees" takes viewers to college campuses around the
country to hear firsthand from students, teachers and administrators who
provide candid insights of the national problems and challenges facing
higher education in America.

"Declining by Degrees" also highlights the impact of market forces in
higher education today. The reality of the college experience today often
depends on the bottom line: money.

http://www.decliningbydegrees.org

------------------------------------------------------------
Hungry For Profit – Screening March 1, 2007 at 7pm
85 minutes

Is our food bought at the price of famine in the developing world? Filmed
on five continents, this provocative documentary takes a close look at the
global agribusiness system, which is turning the world's food supply into
a global supermarket, buying food at the lowest prices - regardless of the
effect on small farmers and local populations - and selling it at the
highest price and the greatest profit whenever possible.

An international development documentary that goes behind the famine
headlines.

Robert Naiman, director of Just Foreign Policy and an IDF Board member,
will be facilitating the showing. Just Foreign Policy is an independent
and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to reforming U.S.
foreign policy to serve the interests and reflect the values of the broad
majority of Americans.

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org
http://www.richtervideos.com/HungryforProfit/

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Who
Killed the Electric Car? (2006) – Screening March 8, 2007 at 7pm 92
minutes

It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It
ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American
technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who
drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush its
fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert?

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? chronicles the life and mysterious death of
the GM EV1, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how
they reverberated through the halls of government and big business.

Was it lack of consumer demand that caused the cars to disappear as
carmakers claimed, or were other persuasive forces at work?

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? interviews and investigates automakers,
legislators, engineers, consumers and car enthusiasts from Los Angeles to
Detroit, to work through motives and alibis, and to piece the complex
puzzle together.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/

--------------------------------------------------------
Why We Fight (2005) – Screening March 15, 2007 at 7pm
99 minutes long

The documentary is named after the World War II-era propaganda newsreels
titled "Why We Fight," which had been commissioned by the United States.

The film describes the rise and maintenance of the purported United States
military-industrial complex while concentrating on wars led by the United
States of the last fifty years and in particular on the 2003 Invasion of
Iraq. It alleges that every decade since World War II, the American public
has been told a lie to bring it into war to fuel the military-economic
machine, which in turn maintains American dominance in the world. It
includes interviews with John McCain, Chalmers Johnson, Richard Perle,
William Kristol, Gore Vidal and Joseph Cirincione. The film also
incorporates the stories of a Vietnam War veteran whose son died in the
September 11, 2001 attacks and then had his son's name written on a bomb
dropped on Iraq, a 23-year old New York man who enlists in the United
States Army citing his financial troubles after his only family member
died, and a former Vietnamese refugee who now develops explosives for the
American military.

Joe Miller, a national coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War,
will be facilitating the film showing. VVAW is an organization,
celebrating its 40th anniversary, dedicated to fighting for peace,
justice, and the rights of all veterans. Joe is also a member of the IDF
Board.

http://www.vvaw.org
http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/main.html