Feb 3: Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2009) shows what happened when Leymah Gbowee of Liberia told herself to “stop acting as a victim and get up and do something!” What she did resulted in a 50-year prison sentence for dictator Charles Taylor, peace for Liberia, and a Nobel Peace Prize for herself. Film named Best Film, 2009 Tri-Continental Film Festival.
Feb 17: The Good Soldier (2009) is an Emmy Award-winning film showing five generations of battle-tried (but unbroken) combat veterans who served the US as valiant patriots, and suffered a painful deliverance from innocence, as they come front and center and lay it in the line.
Mar 3: Run Granny! Run! (2007) At the age of 89, Doris (Granny D) Haddock laced up her sneakers and walked across America to rally against the influence of big money in elections. At age 94, she was a candidate for the US Senate, hoping to restore a government of, by, and for the people. A film both “funny and perceptive….”
Mar 17: Bringing Pedro Home (2012) Only 8-years-old when brought to the US, Pedro (now married and with a son of his own) is arrested by US immigration authorities in Wake County and detained for 19 grueling months. This exceptional documentary tells one family’s story of courage and determina-tion to fight the injustice of current US immigration policies.
April 7: Bringing Down a Dictator (2002) documents the defeat of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, not by force of arms but by an ingenious nonviolent citizen strategy of honest elec-tions and massive civil disobedience. By using rock concerts and ridicule, the internet and e-mail, they accomplished what no army could do.
April 21: Sir! No Sir! (2005) The story of the rebellion of thousands of American soldiers against the Vietnam War has never before been told in film, and few today know of its history-changing events. This film changes all that as it brings to life the history of the GI movement and explores its profound impact on the war and the military.
May 5: The Take (2005) In Buenos Aires, 30 laid-off workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. What shines through is the workers’ simple demand for dignity and the injustice of dignity denied.
May 19: We Women Warriors (2012) follows three native women, caught in the crossfire of Colombia’s warfare, using nonviolent resistance to defend their peoples’ survival. This film bears witness to human rights catastrophes and inter-weaves personal stories about female empowerment, unshakable courage, and faith in the endurance of indigenous culture.
