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Waco: The Rules of Engagement
William Gazecki/Dan Gifford | USA | 1996 | 135 min. | documentary

As this remarkable film piles up damning evidence against US government agencies and officials involved in the Waco fiasco, even those most wary and weary of conspiracy paranoia will be mesmerized by the way this tragedy unfolded. Waco slowly draws us towards its final coflagration, cutting from Congressional hearings to on-the-scene footage of the siege, from David Koresh preaching, to recorded conversations between FBI negotiators and Branch Davidians, from eerie, overhead infrared-radar images, to the terribly damaged body of an eight-year-old child. It's unlikely the ultimate truth will ever be known about this media-driven "war." What this shattering documentary confirms beyond any doubt is that the shameful events of April 19, 1993, need never have happened.

WRITERS/DIRECTORS: William Gazecki and Dan Gifford
EDITOR: William Gazecki
PRODUCERS: Michael McNulty and William Gazecki
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Dan Gifford, Amy Sommer Gifford
MUSIC: David Hamilton
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: William Gazecki and Rick Nyburg

New York Premiere, 1997 Human Rights Watch Festival. Distributed by Amy Sommer Gifford & Dan Gifford, SomFord Entertainment, 8778 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069, Tel: (310) 289-3900 Fax: (310) 289-3909.

William Gazecki

William Gazecko is an Emmy Award-winning editor. He won an Emmy Award for the hit televisions series "St. Elsewhere." He also received Emmy nominations for his work on "Hill Street Blues," "thirtysomething," and "Moonlighting." His work on "Moonlighting" brought him an International Monitor Award in 1987. He has also been honored by the Cinema Audio Society and the Society of Motion Picture Sound Editors.

At the age of 20, Gazecki was hired by prominent record producer Richard Perry. He worked with such artists as Fleetwood Mac, Leo Sayer, and Joe Cocker. Along with music pioneer Paul A. Rothchild, Gazecki completed the successful soundtrack and record album for the feature film The Rose, starring Bette Midler. Rothchild and Gazecki then went on to produce two records for The Doors, adding to their collection of Gold and Plantinum records.

Gazecki has studied film and television production at UCLA, the University of Southern California, and the American Film Institute. In 1991, he founded his own company -- Ultravision, which has provided video production services and support for over 50 productions including documentary, educational and other non-fiction projects.

Dan Gifford

Dan Gifford worked in broadcast journalism as a television news reporter for ABC News, The McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour and CNN. He studied at Johns Hopkins University, The Peabody Conservatory and has studied drama with Cecil Pickett and Chris Wilson.

As an actor, Gifford will appear in the upcoming Contact and Mad City and has also appeared in several other features as well as on television. In addition to Fifth Estate Productions, Gifford also heads up SomFord Entertainment, a management and production company representing actors, directors and writers.

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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL