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Download the list of film distributors (76 KB PDF)
» See HRW’s work on Counterterrorism
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Laurent Herbiet, Director; Costa-Gavras and Jean-Claude Grumberg, Screenplay; Michèle Ray-Gavras, Producer – France/Belgium – 2006 – 110m – 35mm – drama
In French with English subtitles
“Today, in other countries the same horrors are still taking place, committed by the same "colonels" and defenders of democracy as there were in France at that time.” – Costa-Gavras
The latest film from internationally acclaimed human rights filmmaker Costa-Gavras (Z, Missing, Amen) and director Laurent Herbiet, Mon Colonel is a gripping story of historical and political intrigue that echoes with the moral dilemmas of our times. After a retired colonel is assassinated, the army investigator receives a series of provocative messages from the killer. Included in each letter are passages from a young lieutenant’s Algerian war diary that recount a brutal campaign of suppression and torture orchestrated by the colonel himself in the name of "a war on terror.” Mon Colonel is a compelling portrait of a military struggling to deal with a war they have not been trained to fight: a guerrilla war against "terrorists" in which the opponent wears no uniform and melts away into the landscape to fight another day.
Mon Colonel courtesy of Pathé Distribution
Benefit Gala
Wednesday, 21 March
18.15 for 18:45 at Curzon Mayfair Cinema
38 Curzon Street http://www.curzoncinemas.com
Costa-Gavras and Michèle Ray-Gavras present
Show your support for Human Rights Watch by attending the UK Premiere of Mon Colonel. For Benefit Gala tickets, donations, or more information, please contact Erin Rattazzi on 020 7713 2773 or at erin.rattazzi@hrw.org. You can also purchase tickets online, by visiting this page.
Opening Night and Reception
Thursday, 22 March
19.00 at The Ritzy Cinema
Costa-Gavras and Michèle Ray-Gavras present
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Anthony Giacchino – US – 2006 – 82m – video – doc
In English
How far would you go to stop a war? On August 22, 1971, twenty-eight men and women in Camden, New Jersey, carried out a powerful act of civil disobedience against United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The group was part of a nonviolent anti-war movement popularly known as the “Catholic Left.” One of the most dramatic tactics utilized by this movement was breaking into draft board offices to remove and destroy government records that identified young men available for military service. The Camden 28 beautifully recounts the story of the activists’ covert preparations, government intrigue, a government raid and arrest of one protester, betrayal, enduring friendship and an ensuing legal battle which the late Supreme Court Justice William Brennan called “one of the great trials of the twentieth century.” Thirty-five years later, key participants openly discuss their motives, their fears, and the tremendous personal costs of their actions.
SHOWTIMES:
Saturday, 24 March 18.30, The Ritzy Cinema filmmaker and film participants present
Sunday, 25 March 15.30, Clapham filmmaker and film participants present
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» See HRW’s work on International Justice in the Balkans
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Marcel Schüpbach – Switzerland – 2006 – 100m – 35mm – doc
In English and French and Italian with English subtitles
Filmmaker Marcel Schüpbach was given unprecedented access behind the scenes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In an atmosphere of high tension, where everything plays out like a poker game, prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and her team relentlessly pursue notorious perpetrators of crimes against humanity, such as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, still at large. Both Serbia and Croatia – as well as the International Community – pledge total cooperation in helping locate the suspects, but this does not seem to produce any concrete results. And time is running out: in September 2007, Del Ponte’s appointment as prosecutor ends. Moving between The Hague, New York, Zagreb, and Washington, Carla’s List vividly brings to life Del Ponte’s dogged race against the clock in pursuit of justice.
SHOWTIMES:
Tuesday, 27 March 18.30, Gate
Wednesday, 28 March 18.30, ICA
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Sebastián Moreno Mardones – Chile – 2006 – 80m – video – doc
In Spanish with English subtitles
During Pinochet’s long regime, a motley crew of photojournalists shot and framed Chile’s people and turmoil from many points of view. In the streets, in the middle of bloody riots and protests, these fearless photographers learned their craft and created many of the now legendary images which helped focus world attention on the Pinochet regime’s repressive tactics. For them, taking pictures was a form of involvement, even resistance, a way of being more than mere spectators but vital actors. Pinochet had the power and the guns, but these photographers had the camera – the people’s weapon. They lived dangerously and they lived to tell. This is their story.
Co-presented with Discovering Latin America Film Festival http://discoveringlatinamerica.com/dlaff/
SHOWTIMES:
Friday, 23 March 18.30, ICA
Monday, 26 March 18.30, Gate
Tuesday, 27 March 19.00, Renoir
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Rachid Bouchareb – France / Algeria / Morocco / Belgium – 2006 – 120m – 35mm – drama
In French and Arabic with English subtitles
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, Days of Glory follows the gripping and emotional story of four “indigènes” who enlisted in the French army to take back the fatherland from the Nazis. The film depicts the forgotten but crucial role that tens of thousands of North African soldiers played in the liberation of France during 1944 and 1945. Although they had never before stepped foot on French soil, Saïd, Yassir, Messaoud, and Abdelkader become fierce and loyal fighters in a mobile unit on the front lines that victoriously advances through Italy, Provence, and the Vosges with much bloodshed and great losses. They form a powerful bond along the way, while also pursuing personal and political objectives – escaping poverty in Morocco, marrying and creating a life in France, and seeking justice for the colonized Algerians. Eventually, they find themselves utterly alone to single – handedly defend a tiny Alsatian village against a German battalion, another test of courage in a victory essential to the Allied cause.
SHOWTIMES:
Thursday, 29 March 19.00, The Ritzy Cinema filmmaker present
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» See HRW’s work on Women’s Rights
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Eva Mulvad – Denmark – 2006 – 58m – video – doc
In English, Farsi and Pasthu with English subtitles
Award-winner at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Enemies of Happiness is a film about personal courage and conviction. It centers on Malalai Joya, who became one of Afghanistan’s most famous and infamous women in 2003 when she challenged the power of warlords in the country’s new government. Two years later, the 28-year-old ran in her country’s first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years. A survivor of repeated assassination attempts, she campaigned surrounded by armed guards. How do you introduce democracy in a country where a majority of the people are illiterate, votes are for sale, and warlords use threats and bribes to control the ballots, and many women cannot leave their children to vote? As the film eloquently illustrates, it takes more than Western soldiers and diplomats. Joya is a controversial voice for a nation ruined by war, still ruled by fear, but desperate for a change for the better.
followed by
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» See HRW’s work on Belarus
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Miroslaw Dembinski – Poland – 2006 – 51m – video – doc
In Polish and Belarusian with English subtitles
A Lesson of Belarusian is about young activists who never give up believing that Belarus will one day be free. The story follows Franek Viacorka, who studies at an elite school established by his father to promote the Belarusian language. However, the school has been banned and operating underground since 2003, a victim of the anti – democratic rule of President Alexander Lukashenka. Franek and his classmates are both passionate and thoughtful, expressing their critical attitude to the government by issuing an underground newspaper, recording music with activist lyrics, and organizing an opposition concert. Despite the imprisonment of Franek’s father and the constant threat of their own arrest, they are undeterred. In the March 2006 presidential election, they support the democratic opposition candidate in a mass demonstration in Minsk’s main square. While the candidate is powerless to combat Lukashenka’s corruption and use of riot police, Franek and his classmates realize that fearlessness is a victory in itself.
Co-presented with DocHouse www.dochouse.org
SHOWTIMES:
Saturday, 24 March 15.00, The Ritzy Cinema Both filmmakers present
Sunday, 25 March 18.00, Clapham Both filmmakers present
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» See HRW’s work on the Torture and Abuse of U.S. Detainees
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Rory Kennedy – US – 2006 – 78m – video – doc
In English and Arabic with English subtitles
Powerful, restrained, and fiercely compelling, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib demands that the US examine its conscience as a nation. Acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy explores the many troubling questions behind the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the damage that its aftermath has had on America’s credibility as a defender of freedoms and human rights around the world. A many faceted story, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib has interviews with people involved from all sides, including those who created the policy, those who carried out the brutal treatment, and those who are experts on the legal and psychological ramifications of what went on there. But what sets this film apart is how, for the first time, we hear the harrowing reflections of some of the Iraqis who were tortured. The film delves deep into the crucial questions of what happened and who should be held responsible, and goes further by asking whether, under severe pressure to produce results and with uncertainty as to what is allowed, any of us wouldn’t be capable of perpetrating harmful acts against others.
SHOWTIMES:
Friday, 23 March 18.30, The Ritzy Cinema
Saturday, 24 March 18.15, ICA
Thursday, 29 March 18.30, ICA
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» See HRW’s work on Israel and the Palestinian Authority
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Shimon Dotan – Israel – 2006 – 89m – video – doc
In English and Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
Eight thousand Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails today. They are called “Security Prisoners.” For most Israelis they are assassins and criminals. For most Palestinians they are heroes and freedom fighters. Shot inside the Ber Sheba, Ashkelon, Hadarim, and Megiddo prisons, Hot House is a unique, probing documentary – feature that explores the emergence of a Palestinian national leadership within Israeli prisons. The film offers a rare look at the experiences, motivations, and mindsets of a number of key inmates serving multiple life sentences and the remarkable degree to which they influence the political process in the outside world. Hot House provides a unique opportunity to observe events of historic proportions at their nascent beginnings while shattering the two – dimensional stereotypes and often polarizing commentary presented by the mainstream media on the Israeli – Palestinian conflict.
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
Co-presented with The Frontline Club www.thefrontlineclub.com
SHOWTIMES:
Monday, 26 March 20.45, The Ritzy Cinema
Tuesday, 27 March 18.30, ICA
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Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – Germany – 2006 – 137m – 35mm – drama
In German with English subtitles
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007 and winner of seven German Film Awards in 2006, The Lives of Others is a blistering indictment of the former East German regime. The setting is East Berlin, 1984: Glasnost is a million miles away and minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme), a man with a wandering eye, used to exploiting his position to eliminate rivals in politics or love, takes a fancy to Christa (Martina Gedeck), a beautiful and very popular actress. She is living with Georg (Sebastian Koch), one of the country’s most lauded – and loyal – playwrights. While fellow writers have fallen out of favor, Georg has curried connections and is treated as a cultural superstar. Georg and Christa’s apparently safe little world is about to be turned upside down. The agent of turmoil is Captain Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a grim, rather mousy Stasi agent convinced that no one is ever truly innocent of anything. Soon all our characters are lost in a Kafkaesque nightmare.
SHOWTIMES:
Friday, 23 March 19.00, Clapham
Monday, 26 March 18.30, Renoir
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» See HRW’s work on Women’s Rights
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Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Nelson Walker – Democratic Republic of Congo/US – 2007 – 76m – video – doc
In Swahili and French with English subtitles
The agonies of war – torn Africa are deeply etched in the bodies of women. In eastern Congo, vying militias, armies, and bandits use rape as a weapon of terror. Recently engaged to a young man from her village, 20-year-old Lumo Sinai can’t wait to have children and start a family. But when she crosses paths with marauding soldiers who brutally attack her, she is left with a fistula – a condition that renders her incontinent and threatens her ability to give birth. Rejected by her fiancé and cast aside by her family, Lumo finds her way to the one place that may save her, a hospital for rape survivors. Buoyed by the love of the hospital staff, including a formidable team of wise women known to all as "the Mamas," Lumo and her friends keep alive the hope of one day resuming their former lives, thanks to an operation that can restore them fully to health. A feisty young woman with a red comb perpetually jutting from her hair, Lumo faces the challenge of recovery with remarkable courage. As she and her friends recover from surgery, they pass the days by gossiping and sharing their dreams of one day finding love. But when it looks like her operation may have failed, Lumo’s faith is thrown entirely into question. On this uncertain road to recovery, Lumo proves that the solidarity of women can bind even the most irreparable of wounds.
SHOWTIMES:
*Sunday, 25 March 15.30, ICA filmmakers present
Tuesday, 27 March 21.15, The Ritzy Cinema filmmakers present
*Preceded on Sunday, 25 March by the short play QUIET AND WE HEAR! by Philip Luswata from the Royal Court Theatre’s International Playwrights Programme
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» See HRW’s work on Israel and the Palestinian Authority
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Avner Faingulernt and Macabit Abramzon – Israel – 2005 – 90m – video – doc
In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
On the border between Gaza and Israel lies an isolated and abandoned beach where, against all odds, Israeli and Palestinian fishermen lived and fished together from 1999 to 2003. The Palestinians were teaching the Israelis ancient fishing techniques transmitted from one generation to the next and the Israelis, by their presence, were enabling the Palestinians to continue to fish in Israeli waters. The film intimately and beautifully documents these four crucial years in the lives of this eclectic group of men from warring cultures, who are brought together by their shared work and the natural threats they face each day in the open sea. Ultimately it is not the harshness of nature that is the greatest obstacle to their work, but the pressures of politics and the fighting surrounding their enclave.
SHOWTIMES:
*Saturday, 24 March 21.00, ICA filmmaker present
Sunday, 25 March 19.00, The Ritzy Cinema filmmaker present
*Preceded on Saturday, 24 March by the short play AN INFIDEL IN THE UPPER ROOM by Rotimi Babatunde from the Royal Court Theatre’s International Playwrights Programme.
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Chema Rodriguez – Spain – 2006 – 90m – 35mm – doc
In Spanish with English subtitles
Exhilarating, endearing, and often deeply humorous, The Railroad All-Stars features Valeria, Vilma, and Mercy, three prostitutes in search of a better life. The women live and work in La Linea, a destitute neighbourhood next to a railroad track in Guatemala City that houses poor families and is overrun by thievery, gangs, and prostitution. Fed up with the abuse they get from customers, lovers, and the police, they decide to take matters into their own hands and form a football team, “Las Estrellas de la Linea,” in hopes of bringing attention to their plight. After the first game against a local high school team, Las Estrellas are banned from future competitions on account of their profession; however, this controversy brings enormous media attention – precisely what the women were hoping for. Filmmaker Chema Rodriguez exhibits a strong bond with his characters, drawing out their exuberance and inspiring strength as they fight for their most basic human rights and a better life through the most unusual of channels – football.
Co-presented with Discovering Latin America Film Festival http://discoveringlatinamerica.com/dlaff/
SHOWTIMES:
Sunday, 25 March 18.30, ICA
Monday, 26 March 18.30, The Ritzy Cinema
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» See HRW’s work on Women’s Rights
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Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater – US/Nicaragua/Costa Rica – 2005 – 55m – video – doc
In English and Spanish with English subtitles
In January 2003, news spreads throughout Central and South America that a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl has become pregnant as the result of a rape. Rosa, or Rosita as the girl becomes known in the press, is the only child of illiterate campesinos working in Costa Rica as coffee pickers at the time of the assault. Fearing for their daughter's life and mental health, Rosa's parents are determined to obtain an abortion for their child. In both Nicaragua* and Costa Rica, abortion is illegal except when deemed necessary to save the life of the mother. Despite the odds of obtaining a rarely granted exception for a so – called "therapeutic" abortion, Rosa's parents move forward only to be forced into battle with two governments, the medical establishment, and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The drama unfolds chronologically, combining the public media reports with the private remembrances of those involved – Rosa's parents, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, priests and journalists. *In October, 2006 Nicaragua’s legislature outlawed all abortion without exception.
Co-presented with Discovering Latin America Film Festival http://discoveringlatinamerica.com/dlaff/
preceded by
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» See HRW’s work on Children’s Rights
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Lucian Muntean and Nataša Stankovic – Serbia – 2005 – 27m – video – doc
In Nepali and Tamang with English subtitles
Beautifully and sensitively produced, Punam tells the story of nine-year-old Punam Tamang, who lives in Bhaktapur in Nepal. Punam lost her mother when she was five years old and since that time she has been the family caretaker, providing for her younger brother Krishna (now seven) and her younger sister Rabina (now five).
SHOWTIMES:
Tuesday, 27 March 18.30, The Ritzy Cinema filmmakers of Rosita present
Wednesday, 28 March 18.15, The Ritzy Cinema filmmakers of Rosita present
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» See HRW’s work on Nigeria
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Dan Ollman – Nigeria/US – 2006 – 65m – video – doc
In English and Yoruba with English subtitles
Focusing on the legendary African singer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his son Femi, Suffering and Smiling depicts the impact of their politically charged music. Following Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Fela used his songs to speak out against the country’s corrupt leaders. Since independence the military and political elite have enriched themselves by allowing Nigeria’s oil and natural resources to be stripped by multinational corporations with little benefit to ordinary Nigerians. Fela gave voice to Nigeria’s disenfranchised underclass and sang of a free and united Africa. Upon his death in 1997, Femi has continued his father’s legacy. Equally passionate and charismatic, he sings about the dire situation in his country, asks why the world’s most resource – rich continent has the poorest people, and struggles to maintain a vision of better days ahead for the common people of Nigeria.
SHOWTIMES:
Saturday, 24 March 19.00, Clapham
Wednesday, 28 March 21.00, The Ritzy Cinema
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» See HRW’s work on Burma
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Milena Kaneva – Bulgaria/Italy – 2006 – 90m – video – doc
In English and Karen and Burmese with English subtitles
The inspiring story of fifteen villagers from the jungles of Burma whose quest for justice eventually leads them to bring a case to a US court against two oil giants – UNOCAL and TOTAL – for human rights abuse. For five years producer/director Milena Kaneva collected accounts from Burmese villagers of forced labour, relocation of villages, rape, and murder associated with construction of the Yadana pipeline. Her “guide” during this journey was Ka Hsaw Wa, a member of Burma’s Karen ethnic minority, and one of the leaders of the student movement for democracy in Burma in 1988 which was violently suppressed by the Burmese government. For more than a decade, at considerable personal risk, he has gathered testimonies and other evidence on numerous cases of human rights and environmental abuse. In 1995, along with the co-founder of Earth Rights International, Katie Redford, Ka Hsaw Wa brought a landmark lawsuit against UNOCAL and TOTAL that drew international attention to the pervasive abuses in Burma.
SHOWTIMES:
Monday, 26 March 18.30, ICA
Wednesday, 28 March 18.30, Renoir
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» See HRW’s work on Mexico
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Francisco Vargas Quevedo – Mexico – 2006 – 98m – 35mm – drama
In Spanish with English subtitles
Don Plutarco, his son Genaro, and his grandson Lucio live double lives: They are musicians and humble farmers, but also support an armed guerrilla movement seeking social justice for the peasant farmers. When the army seizes the village, the rebels flee to the Sierra hills, forced to leave behind their crucial stock of ammunition. While the guerillas organise a counter – attack, Plutarco executes his own secret plan. Hoping to gain access to his corn field where the ammunition is hidden, he presents himself as a harmless violin player to the military occupying the village. In a stroke of luck, his playing charms the ruthless army captain, who confiscates the violin and orders Plutarco to return daily to play. Plutarco has music, but needs ammunition. The captain wants to stifle the rebellion, but loves music. As the days pass, arms and music enter a dangerous contest that can only end in betrayal.
Co-presented with Discovering Latin America Film Festival http://discoveringlatinamerica.com/dlaff/
SHOWTIMES:
Saturday, 24 March 15.30, ICA
Tuesday, 27 March 18.30, Greenwich
Wednesday, 28 March 19.00, The Ritzy Cinema
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» See HRW’s work on Women’s Rights
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Deepa Mehta – Canada/India – 2005 – 114m – 35mm – drama
In Hindi with English subtitles
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, Water, by the internationally acclaimed director Deepa Mehta, offers the final part of her stunning trilogy (Fire, 1996; Earth, 1998). Filming for Water was to begin in Varanasi, India in 2000, but the production was halted by riots led by Hindu nationalist groups who demolished the set and threatened Mehta in reaction to the film’s controversial subject.
Water tells the story of eight-year-old Chuyia who is not only married, she is now a widow. In 1930s India, widows are consigned to live their entire lives in isolated charity homes, rejected by the general public as polluted, and forbidden to marry again. Chuyia is sent to live out the rest of her life in one of these institutions. There she meets Kalyani, a beautiful young widow who breaks the rules by falling in love with an educated young man who, in reciprocating her affections, is prepared to overturn tradition. Unfortunately, the queen bee of the home has been covertly pimping Kalyani, her most attractive resident, to wealthy local men: When Kalyani leaves, she must replace her source of income. But Ghandi’s politics are sweeping the nation. People are questioning religious interpretations that undermine social progress and the rights of women. Even little Chuyia will be caught up in the wind of change.
Co-presented with with Article 19 www.article19.org and with the Birds Eye View Film Festival www.birds-eye-view.co.uk
SHOWTIMES:
Friday, 23 March 21.00, The Ritzy Cinema filmmaker present
Sunday, 25 March 16.00, Gate filmmaker present
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» See HRW’s work on this issue | |
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Sam Lawlor and Lindsay Pollock – UK – 2007 – 80m – video – doc
In English and Romanian with English subtitles
“This is a very powerful and very moving film that reveals the love and care given to Romanian children with AIDS by a very dedicated group of people whose devotion is deep and sincere and whose success can be seen in the faces of those they have looked over after so carefully. It is a reminder of all that is best in human beings and for that reason is very inspiring.“ – Tony Benn
We’ll Never Meet Childhood Again tells the remarkable, uplifting story of a courageous group of Romanian foster parents who adopted the children referred to as “Ceausescu’s babies” – infants infected with HIV in Romanian hospitals and orphanages during the late 1980s, then left there to die. Health Aid Romania (a nongovernmental organization) established family homes to care for these children, unaware that over time the caregivers would become parents to those children who survived this turbulent period. The film charts these makeshift families’ extraordinary experiences over almost 30 years – through striking oral testimony, candid home video, and revealing observational sequences. We’ll Never Meet Childhood Again beautifully illuminates notions of family, parenthood, death and love – and reveals the societal hurdles and concerns of the children – now adolescents – as they arrive at the time when every child must mature, form their own identity and sexuality, outgrow their family, and aspire to create their own life and, possibly, their own family.
SHOWTIMES:
Saturday, 24 March 20.45, The Ritzy Cinema filmmakers present
Wednesday, 28 March 18.30, Gate filmmakers present
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Image courtesy of HBO
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Spike Lee – US – 2006 – 240m – video – doc
In English
“New Orleans is fighting for its life. These are not people who will disappear quietly – they’re accustomed to hardship and slights, and they’ll fight for New Orleans.” – Spike Lee
As the world watched in horror, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Declaring that the city had avoided the worst of the storm, city and state officials were caught off – guard when the levees that had been designed to protect low – lying areas of the city from flooding were breached. The 9th Ward District was inundated, over one thousand people died, and an estimated 1.5 million residents were displaced. Like many who watched the unfolding drama on television news, director Spike Lee was shocked not only by the scale of the disaster, but by the slow, inept, and disorganized response of the emergency and recovery effort. To produce this extraordinary account, Lee interviewed nearly 100 people – Governor Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin, residents Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, Kimberly Polk, Shelton “Shakespeare” Alexander, and Rev. Williams; activists Al Sharpton and Harry Belafonte and musicians Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Kanye West, to name but a few. This intimate portrait of New Orleans in the wake of the destruction tells the stories of many of those who endured this harrowing ordeal and survived to tell the tale of misery, heartbreak, despair, and triumph.
SHOWTIMES:
Sunday, 25 March 14.00, The Ritzy Cinema
Please note: there will be a 30m intermission after part II
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Eugene Jarecki – US – 2005 – 98m – 35mm – doc
In English
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Why We Fight, the new film by Eugene Jarecki (The Trials of Henry Kissinger), is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine. The film expertly weaves together unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a “who’s who” of US military and political insiders. Featuring John McCain, Gore Vidal, William Kristol, Richard Perle and others, Why We Fight launches a bipartisan inquiry into the workings of the military industrial complex and the rise of the American Empire. Inspired by US President Dwight Eisenhower’s legendary farewell speech in 1961 (in which he coined the phrase “military industrial complex”), the film surveys the scorched landscape of a half-century’s military adventures, asking how – and telling why – a nation of, by, and for the people has become beholden to a system whose survival depends on a state of constant war.
SHOWTIMES:
Sunday, 25 March 18.30, Greenwich
Thursday, 29 March 21.00, The Ritzy Cinema
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