Films for Thought, Action, Hope

Watch here for upcoming films. 

 Tuesday, July 15:  “Life and Debt” – a 2001 documentary by Stephanie Black with a narration written by Jamaica Kincaid that examines the way policies of the International Monetary fund, the World Bank, and other aid organizations have affected the Jamaican economy.  According to Stephen Holden of The New York Times, the film, “… offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I’ve ever seen.”  This film is an unapologetic look at the “new world order” from the point of view of Jamaican workers and farmers, as well as government and policy officials.  The dynamic reggae sound track features songs by Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Peter Tosh, Sizzla, and others.   86 minutes.

Tuesday, July 29:  “The War on Democracy” – a documentary made by Australian journalist and documentarian , John Pilger, in 2007, demonstrates the brutal reality of America’s notion of “spreading democracy.”  He conducts an exclusive interview with President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela as well as with U.S. government officials who ran the CIA’s war in Latin America in the 1980s.  The film reveals much about U.S. policy and how what has happened in Latin America is a metaphor for how the rest of the world is being “ordered.”  Yet, it is a hopeful film that sees the world through the hopes and dreams and extraordinary actions of ordinary people.  The thrust of this film is a constant theme in all of John Pilger’s work: that great, rapacious power is far from invincible and that people power is enduring.  94 minutes.

Tuesday, August 5:  “Blood and Oil” -- a 2008 documentary based on the critically-acclaimed work of Nation magazine defense correspondent Michael T. Klare’s book, Blood and Oil: The dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum. The film unearths declassified documents and highlights forgotten passages in prominent presidential doctrines to show how concerns about oil have been at the core of American foreign policy for more than 60 years — rendering our contemporary energy and military policies virtually indistinguishable. In the end, Blood and Oil calls for a radical re-thinking of US energy policy, warning that unless we change direction, we stand to be drawn into one oil war after another as the global hunt for diminishing world petroleum supplies accelerates.  52 min.

Tuesday, August 19: “Studs Terkel at 95” – a film of Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now” interviewing Studs Terkel on his 95^th birthday, May 16, 2007.  Studs Terkel is the legendary Chicago radio broadcaster, oral historian and author who has become a folk hero.  Over the decades, Studs Terkel has penned more than a dozen books and he is still going. His long-awaited memoir, titled “Touch and Go,” was published in November 2007.  He has also won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American letters, the George Polk Career Award and the presidential National Humanities Medal. He hosted a daily radio show on WFMT in Chicago from 1952 through 1997.  In this interview he talks about his life, his work, his thoughts on the past century and what it feels like to be ninety-five years old.  60 minutes.

These films, which are part of the Pacem in Terris Summer Speaker and Film Series 2008 (click Here for whole series), are free and open to the public.  They are presented by Pacem in Terris as a public service.  For more information, call 302-656-2721.

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