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FILM LIBRARY: WAR & PEACE

The Camden 28
by Anthony Giacchino

How far would you go to stop a war? "The Camden 28" recalls a 1971 raid on a Camden, New Jersey draft board office by "Catholic Left" activists protesting the Vietnam War and its effects on urban America. Arrested on site in a clearly planned sting, the protesters included four Catholic priests, a Lutheran minister and 23 others. "The Camden 28" reveals the story behind the arrests — a provocative tale of government intrigue and personal betrayal — and the ensuing legal battle, which Supreme Court Justice William Brennan called "one of the great trials of the 20th century." Thirty-five years later, the participants take stock of their motives, fears and the costs of their activism — and its relevance to America today.

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Inheritance
by James Moll

Imagine watching Schindler's List and knowing the sadistic Nazi camp commandant played by Ralph Fiennes was your father. "Inheritance" is the story of Monika Hertwig, the daughter of mass murderer Amon Goeth. Hertwig has spent her life in the shadow of her father's sins, trying to come to terms with her "inheritance." She seeks out Helen Jonas, who was enslaved by Goeth and who is one of the few living eyewitnesses to his unspeakable brutality. The women's raw, emotional meeting unearths terrible truths and lingering questions about how the actions of our parents can continue to ripple through generations.

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Lumo
by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Nelson Walker III
co-directed by Louis Abelman & Lynn True

The agonies of present-day Africa are deeply etched in the bodies of women. In eastern Congo on the Rwandan border, vying militias, armies and bandits use rape as a weapon of terror. Lumo Sinai was just over 20 when marauding soldiers attacked her. A fistula, a medical condition common among victims of violent rape, rendered Lumo incontinent and threatens her ability to bear children. Rejected by her fiancé and cast aside by her family, she awaits reconstructive surgery. "Lumo" is her story, tragic in its cruelties but also inspiring for the struggle she wages and the dignity she displays, with the help of an extraordinary African hospital, to overcome shame, fear and the affliction that robs her of a normal life.

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My Country, My Country
by Laura Poitras

Working alone in Iraq over eight months, filmmaker Laura Poitras ("Flag Wars," P.O.V.) creates an extraordinarily intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Her principal focus is Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate. An outspoken critic of the occupation, he is equally passionate about the need to establish democracy in Iraq, arguing that Sunni participation in the January 2005 elections is essential. Yet all around him, Dr. Riyadh sees only chaos, as his waiting room fills each day with patients suffering the physical and mental effects of ever-increasing violence. "My Country, My Country" is a powerful mosaic of daily life in Iraq. A co-production with the Independent Television Service (ITVS), produced in association with P.O.V./American Documentary. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2007.

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Downloadable materials:
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Promises
by B. Z. Goldberg and Justine Shapiro

What is it really like to live in Jerusalem today? Promises offers touching and surprisingly fresh insight into the Middle East conflict when filmmaker B.Z. Goldberg returns to his hometown to see what seven children — Palestinian and Israeli — think about war, peace, and just growing up. Living within 20 minutes of each other, these children are nevertheless locked in separate worlds.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

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Rain in a Dry Land
by Anne Makepeace

How do you measure the distance from an African village to an American city? What does it mean to be a refugee in today's "global village?" "Rain in a Dry Land" provides eye-opening answers as it chronicles the fortunes of two Somali Bantu families, transported by relief agencies from years of civil war and refugee life to Atlanta and Springfield, Massachusetts. As the newcomers confront racism, poverty and 21st-century culture shock, the filmmaker Anne Makepeace (P.O.V.'s "Baby, It's You") captures their efforts to survive in America and create a safe haven for their war-torn families. Their poetry, humor and amazing resilience show us our own world through new eyes. A co-production with the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

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Regret To Inform
by Barbara Sonneborn and Janet Cole

In this Academy Award nominated film, filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn is compelled to make a brave pilgrimage to the remote Vietnamese countryside where her husband died. She explores the meaning of war and loss on a human level and weaves interviews with Vietnamese and American widows into a vivid testament to the chilling legacy of war. As we near the 25th anniversary of the war's end, these stories are stirring reminders that the battle scars are life-long, but that shared sorrow can inspire healing and reconciliation.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

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Downloadable materials:
Facilitator's Guide | Further Reading List

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
by Zach Niles and Banker White

If the refugee is today's tragic icon of a war-ravaged world, then Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a reggae-inflected band born in the camps of West Africa, represents a real-life story of survival and hope. The six-member Refugee All Stars came together in Guinea after civil war forced them from their native Sierra Leone. Traumatized by physical injuries and the brutal loss of family and community, they fight back with the only means they have — music. The result, as shown in "Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars," is a tableau of tragedy transformed by the band's inspiring determination to sing and be heard. A Diverse Voices Project co-production.

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Soldados: Chicanos in Viet Nam
by Charley Trujillo and Sonya Rhee

Based on the 1991 American Book Award winner of the same name, Viet Nam War veteran Charley Trujillo and producer Sonya Rhee's "Soldados: Chicanos in Viet Nam" is the first documentary to recount the harrowing experience of a generation of Mexican-American boys who fought in Viet Nam. Raised in the San Joaquin Valley of California, their first journey away from their rural hometown was to the war-torn rice paddies of Viet Nam. Profoundly changed by the experience, the soldados returned with a new conception of themselves and their country — and of the particular challenges facing them as Chicanos. A Diverse Voices Project Selection.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

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Soldiers of Conscience
by Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg

When is it right to kill? In the midst of war, is it right to refuse? Eight U.S. soldiers today, some who killed and some who said no, reveal their inner moral dilemmas in Soldiers of Conscience. Made with official permission of the U.S. Army, the film transcends politics to explore the tension between spiritual values and military orders. Soldiers follows the stories of both conscientious objectors and those who criticize them. Through this clash of views, the film discovers a surprising common ground: all soldiers are "soldiers of conscience," torn between the demands of duty and the call of conscience.

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War Feels Like War
by Esteban Uyarra

This film documents the lives of reporters and photographers who circumvent military media control to get access to the real Iraq War. As the invading armies sweep into the country, some of the journalists in Kuwait decide to travel in their wake, risking their lives to discover the true impact of war on civilians. "War Feels Like War" records their frustration, fear and horror as they fight their way to Baghdad to witness events ignored by other news media, and reveals the difficulties the journalists experience as they try to return to normal life back home. A 2004 Election Issue Special.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

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Downloadable materials:
Discussion Guide | Further Reading List | Lesson Plan

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