‘Have You Heard From Johannesburg’ series begins tonight on Independent Lens

January 15, 2012 in crimes agnst. humanity, filmmaker, justice, social justice, South Africa | Permalink

Watch A Landmark Series on the Anti-Apartheid Movement on PBS. See more from Independent Lens.

“Have You Heard From Johannesburg,” a five-part series documenting the global struggle to end the South African apartheid, begins at 11:30 p.m. ET tonight with parts 1 and 2 on PBS’ “Independent Lens.”

The series is airing nationally on PBS through January, a month that also marks the 100th anniversary of the African National Congress, the ruling political party of South Africa.

Award-winning social documentary filmmaker Connie Field tells the story across five decades of South Africa’s struggle for freedom. She begins with the first session of the United Nations in 1945 and follows the global anti-apartheid movement through to 1990, when Nelson Mandela was set free after 27 years of imprisonment.

Following Episode One, “The Road to Resistance,” Episode Two, “The New Generation,” airs tonight at 12:30 a.m. on MPBN.

Episodes Three and Four, “Selma to Soweto” and “The Bottom Line” will be broadcast very early Monday morning, Jan. 23, beginning at 12:30 a.m. Episode Five, “Free at Last,” wraps the series on Sun., Jan. 29, at 11:30 p.m.

For more information, visit Independent Lens.

Field can be found at Clarity Films; she’s already working on her next film, tentatively called “Martin Luther King Jr. in Palestine.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

‘Bouncing Cats’ makes Doc Channel debut tonight

November 19, 2011 in child soldier, children, crimes agnst. humanity, filmmaker, HIV/AIDS, humanitarian crisis, LRA, musician, orphaned child, The Voice Project, Uganda | Permalink

What does it take to make a real difference in the lives of others? What if it was as easy as sharing that thing in the world that you really love to do.

For Ugandan Abraham “Abramz” Tekya, that thing is dance – specifically, hip-hop and breakdancing.

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the Documentary Channel premieres Nabil Elderkin’s award-winning “Bouncing Cats,” which follows Tekya’s journey – from losing both parents to HIV/AIDS before age nine to creating Breakdance Project Uganda (B.P.U.) to empower, rehabilitate and heal the children of Uganda.

Musician John Legend said the film is really worth seeing:

“I think a lot of times when people depict Africa, they don’t always depict the humanity of the people there. They depict it more just as a problem, as a crisis to be solved – that it’s not a collection of individual human beings.

“It’s hard to make everyone care about things that go on thousands of miles away, and so it’s the job of people that care and the people that know what’s going on to craft a message that will hit home for people … to engage them to help with the solution. And part of the way I think you do that is films like this, where you humanize the Africans … that may seem so distant from us and maybe so different from us, so that you realize that they’re not that different from us.”

– See Legend’s full interview about “Bouncing Cats”

For more information, including future screenings, visit Bouncing Cats and the Documentary Channel.

Finding out why the film is called “Bouncing Cats” is worth tuning in, all by itself.

Caution: Today's video contains sensitive images.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Zambian women reflect the power of storytelling in ‘Where the Water Meets the Sky’

November 8, 2011 in filmmaker, HIV/AIDS, Zambia | Permalink

Today, ViewChange.org is hosting the online premiere of the award-winning documentary, “Where the Water Meets the Sky.”

The film follows the work of international nonprofit Camfed, or the Campaign for Female Education, which fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change.

According to Camfed, one way it fulfills its mission is through the transformational power of film storytelling. After its filmmaking-training program began in 2004 in Ghana, Camfed brought it to Zambia. It was there that filmmakers David Eberts and Helen Cotton documented the process.

Written by Jordan Roberts and narrated by Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, the film follows a class of 23 women, under the guidance of two teachers, as they create their own film. The students chose an often unspoken, yet deeply familiar focus: the challenges faced by young women who have been orphaned because of AIDS.

Watch the film today on ViewChange.org. The documentary is also being televised this month on LinkTV and the Sundance Channel.

To learn more about this project and how you can lend your support, visit Where the Water Meets the Sky and Camfed.

“A lot of people in the community get caught in the burdens they carry in their hearts. But when they share their stories, those burdens become easier to bear.”
– Frieda, Samfya Women Filmmakers

Tags: , , , , , ,

Two peacekeeping experts visit Maine

October 14, 2011 in Maine, peace, Philippines, Sahrawi people, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Western Sahara | Permalink

Mainers have the chance to hear two perspectives on peacekeeping this month: from Dr. Tim Wallis, executive director of Nonviolent Peaceforce, and Ambassador Charles F. Dunbar, senior lecturer in international Relations at Boston University.

College of the Atlantic (COA) will host alumnus Dr. Wallis for “Nonviolent Peaceforce: Transforming the World’s Response to Conflict,” at COA’s Gates Community Center on Sun., Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m. He will discuss alternatives to war and the potential created by a nonviolent peaceforce.

Dr. Wallis’ organization, Nonviolent Peaceforce, was founded 2002 as an unarmed, paid civilian peacekeeping force that fosters dialog among parties in conflict and provides a protective presence for threatened civilians. The organization’s current initiatives include peacekeeping forces in South Sudan, Sri Lanka and the Mindanao region of the Philippines.

According to Nonviolent Peaceforce, United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers differ in that they typically lack training in nonviolence; they often serve as armed forces to restrain civil disorder or violence at the request of the UN Security Council; and they are not trained to resolve underlying tensions or conflicts.

Rather than being reactive, Nonviolent Peaceforce states that it is aimed at prevention; it is comprised of civilians trained in nonviolent techniques; and it enables groups to discuss their conflicts in a way that all parties can be heard and tangible solutions can be found.

To learn more about Dr. Wallis’ organization, visit nonviolentpeaceforce.org.

With another perspective on peacekeeping, the Maine Chapter of the United Nations Association – USA is marking UN Day, Mon., Oct. 24, with a talk by Ambassador Dunbar: “United Nations Peace Operations: Much Maligned, Much Needed,” at the Morrell Meeting Room at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.

Free and open to the public, the event begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the talk at 7 p.m.

“Since the Cold War, some 45 UN peacekeeping missions have come and gone, with 16 now in place,” said Ambassador Dunbar in the UNA-Maine Summer 2011 newsletter. “A few have succeeded, a few have been tragic failures, most are somewhere in between, but the harsh reality is that national self-interest, donor fatigue and short international attention-spans overwhelm good intentions.”

Ambassador Dunbar served as a state department foreign service officer for more than 30 years in Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Afghanistan, and as ambassador to Qatar and Yemen. While a special representative of the UN secretary-general, Dunbar headed a 500-person UN peacekeeping mission that was tasked with organizing a referendum to decide if the former Spanish Sahara would become independent or become part of Morocco, its occupier since 1975.

To learn more about the UN Day event, visit unamaine.org.

Tags: , , , , , ,

NAACP broadcasts Davis ‘Celebration of Life’

October 1, 2011 in advocacy, donate, justice, peace, Troy Davis | Permalink

As hundreds of family, friends and supporters pack Jonesville Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., for the memorial service of Troy Anthony Davis, thousands more will be able to virtually stand alongside the Davis family.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is broadcasting live the service, “Troy Davis: A Celebration of Life,” beginning around 11 a.m. this morning.

Troy Davis was executed by the State of Georgia at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Ga., on Wed., Sept. 21, as he proclaimed his innocence to his last moments.

Scheduled speakers include NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous and Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox.

In an email announcing the broadcast, Jealous wrote, “Even in the face of death, Troy understood how his story could change this country forever. In the days and weeks ahead, we will work to ensure that Troy’s mission is carried out, and the brutal practice of the death penalty is abolished in this country once and for all.

“Troy’s story has touched each of our lives. Please join us [Saturday] as we stand alongside his family in this time of reflection and remembrance.”

The NAACP invites supporters to sign the petition in Troy’s memory, calling for an end to the death penalty in the United States.

The NAACP also released information about ways to assist the Davis family:

Letters of condolence may be sent to:
“I am Troy Davis”
P.O. Box 2105
Savannah, GA 31407

In lieu of flowers, donations may be mailed to:
“I Am Troy Fund”
Capitol City Bank
339 MLK, Jr., Blvd.
Savannah, Georgia 31401

We share with you today an interview with Troy’s oldest sister Martina Davis Correia, recorded Monday with Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!” Correia speaks about the financial burdens placed on the family of the executed for transportation of their loved one’s body and all final arrangements.

Lastly, we thank the Davis family for opening the service for Troy to the public, and to the NAACP for sharing it with those who could not attend in person. We continue to wish peace to both the Davis and the MacPhail families.

Tags: , , , , ,

Clark convenes ‘Informed Activism’ this weekend

September 22, 2011 in action, advocacy, conflict minerals, Congo, crimes agnst. humanity, humanitarian crisis, photographer, sexual violence | Permalink

This weekend, more than 1,000 students, scholars, policy-makers, activists and representatives from non-governmental organizations are scheduled to gather at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., for a unique international summit, Informed Activism: Armed Conflict, Scarce Resources and Congo.

Clark’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies has joined with Jewish World Watch to host this conference to address the relationship between mass violence and “conflict minerals” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The conference will also see the debut of a photographic essay by Michael Ramsdell, “Power, Prosperity and Hope in Eastern Congo.”

For more details on the summit’s program, speakers and participating organizations, visit the Clark University website.

Tags: , , ,

‘Light in the Darkness’ makes PBS premiere

September 21, 2011 in immigrant | Permalink

In 2008, the Long Island town of Patchogue, N.Y., endured a series of attacks against its Latino residents that escalated to the murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant and 13-year resident of the village.

“Not in our Town: Light in the Darkness” follows Mayor Paul Pontieri, Marcelo’s brother Joselo Lucero and their Patchogue neighbors in the complex aftermath of the brutal tragedy.

The one-hour documentary makes its MPBN debut at 10 p.m. ET tonight.

Tags: , , ,

Hope remains for Davis in these final hours

September 21, 2011 in advocacy, justice, musician, peace, Troy Davis | Permalink

“Democracy Now!” devoted its entire on-location broadcast today to the fallibility of the U.S. death penalty and the scheduled execution of Troy Anthony Davis by the State of Georgia at 7 p.m. ET.

Host Amy Goodman will also conduct a special broadcast, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT, from outside the prison and execution site in Jackson, Ga.

With a mountain of unresolved doubt in the Davis’ case, supporters are trying to stop the execution:

  • The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is petitioning Chatham County, Ga., District Attorney Larry Chisolm to ask the judge to withdraw the death warrant against Troy Davis.
  • Amnesty International USA is forwarding emails to DA Chisolm and to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking the Board to reverse its decision to deny clemency; Amnesty also lists specific contact information for Chisolm; the Board; Local Judge Penny Haas Freesemann; and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.
  • Death Penalty Focus is hosting a letter campaign to these same parties.
  • The Southern Center for Human Rights has joined six retired corrections officials to ask the Board to reconsider its decision; SCHR has also partnered with Georgia Sen. Vincent Fort in asking officials assigned to the execution to refuse to participate.
  • As I write, SignOn.org is just more than 10,000 short of its goal of 190,000 signatures to stop the execution.

    • Additionally, NAACP and the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are scheduled to call for intervention to save Davis in a 3 p.m. press conference.

    Amnesty International is inviting Davis supporters to attend a vigil at the church across the street from the prison at 5:30 p.m. and a protest at 6 p.m.; Amnesty is asking participants to wear a black armband inscribed, “Not in my name.”

    In Maine, a “Pray & Fast for Troy Davis” gathering is being held at Monument Square in Portland from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. ET.

    After the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency yesterday, Davis requested a polygraph test, in hopes to prove his innocence to Georgia authorities. Today, his request was denied.

    The last hope might be an appeal submitted by Davis’ defense to the Butts County Superior Court, requesting that the execution be blocked; if Butts County passes, the appeal would move on to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Meanwhile, the family of police officer Mark MacPhail maintains that they believe Davis is responsible for the killing.

    Davis was convicted of murdering MacPhail in 1989; 7 of 9 non-police witnesses have since recanted their testimony and one of the two who has not recanted has been tabbed as the killer by other witnesses that have since come forward.

    Troy’s sister Kimberly delivered a message of thanks from the Davis family in a NAACP video on Sept. 17. See also, NPR’s Songs for Troy Davis.

    Whatever the outcome tonight, we continue to wish peace to the Davis and the MacPhail families.

    Tags: , , , , ,

    Voices of Hunger Strike call for action, solidarity

    July 23, 2011 in action, advocacy, crimes agnst. humanity, Darfur, filmmaker, Fur Cultural Revival, genocide, humanitarian crisis, ICC, immigrant, justice, Maine, peace, reconciliation, refugee, South Sudan, Sudan | Permalink

    With the most recent Darfur Fast for Life just wrapping up, we wanted to bring you statements from those who fasted in front of the White House

    You can view interviews, one representing each hour of the fast, on the YouTube Channel, SudanUnlimited.

    Following the fast, the Peace in Sudan Rally is being held until 3 p.m. today in Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.

    Supporters have gathered in solidarity with the Sudanese Diaspora and activist leaders to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the declaration of the Darfur genocide by Congress, while highlighting ongoing violence in Abyei, Southern Kordofan and other areas of Sudan. Maine Darfuri advocate El-Fadel Arbab of Portland’s Fur Cultural Revival is scheduled to speak during the rally.

    If you missed the chance to participate in the fast or the rally, it’s not too late to take action. Visit Darfur Fast for Life for information about contacting your representatives about making Darfur and its people a priority.

    Tags: , , ,

    Join Darfur hunger strike on Friday, noon to noon

    July 21, 2011 in action, advocacy, crimes agnst. humanity, Darfur, genocide, humanitarian crisis, ICC, justice, peace, reconciliation, Sudan | Permalink

    On Friday, advocates for Darfur around the world will be uniting in a hunger strike with four objectives:

    • Immediate protection of civilians
    • Unimpeded humanitarian access
    • Accountability for the crimes against humanity committed by Sudan’s regime, as alleged by the International Criminal Court (ICC)
    • Justice brought to bear for the Sudanese people for genocide crimes and other atrocities committed in Darfur and throughout Sudan, as alleged by the ICC

    The fasters’ statement from Darfur Fast for Life is:

    We fast in solidarity with the people of Darfur because they do not have a choice. We fast as a personal expression of outrage at a world that has allowed the suffering of millions of innocent people. We fast because we simply watched as Darfur’s defenseless people were forced into wretched camps where today they are facing starvation and disease. We fast because those in positions of authority, who know what is right and just, could and should do more to alleviate their suffering and bring peace, protection and justice to the people of Sudan.

    We fast for Darfur’s courageous people — because we yearn for a world where human rights are respected and a life of dignity is the legacy for every man, woman and child.

    To learn about how you can join the fast, visit Darfur Fast for Life.

    If you cannot fast, consider contacting your government officials about the four objectives (listed above). Even mentioning this fast to at least one other person is an accomplishment as it increases the dialogue about Darfur.

    Tags: , , , , ,

    « Older entries