These are the movies and documentaries to be [hopefully ;)] screened at the film festival... (in their order of appearance)
1.
War on Democracy by John Pilger [96 mins]
"America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling."
- George W. Bush
The deceptive words of America's politicians are held to account as highly-acclaimed, BAFTA-winning journalist John Pilger travels Latin America to uncover the consequences of the United States' greed. Pilger explores how the US has for decades installed presidents in South and Central America who have kept the rich in palaces and the poor in the desperate poverty of the barrios. Through interviews with ex-CIA chiefs, the people of Latin America themselves and a rare interview with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, John Pilger seeks to prove that you should never believe anything until it's officially denied.
[from back cover]
www.warondemocracy.net
2.
Team America: World Police [98 mins]
Team America: World Police is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated series South Park. The film is a satire of big-budget action films and their associated clichés and stereotypes, with particular humorous emphasis on the global implications of American politics. The title of the film itself is derived from domestic and international political criticisms that the U.S. frequently and unilaterally tries to "police the world".
The film features a cast composed of marionettes (except for two live cats, two nurse sharks, a cockroach, and a man dressed as a giant statue of Kim Jong-il). Team America focuses on a fictional team of political paramilitary policemen known as "Team America: World Police," who attempt to save the world from a violent terrorist plot led by Kim Jong-il. The film was primarily inspired by Thunderbirds, a popular British TV show created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson which also featured an all-marionette cast, though Stone and Parker were not fans of the show.[1]
The film was released in the United States on October 15, 2004 and received mostly positive reviews. The film was released on DVD in the United States on May 17, 2005, available in both R-rated and Unrated versions. Since the film's release, it has made about $51 million worldwide.
[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_America:_World_Police ]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372588/
3.
The Corporation [145 mins]
The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film written by Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary is critical of the modern-day corporation, considering its legal status as a class of person and evaluating its behaviour towards society and the world at large as a psychiatrist might evaluate an ordinary person. This is explored through specific examples. The Corporation has been shown worldwide, on television, and via DVD, file sharing, and free download. Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary.
[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corporation ]
www.thecorporation.com
4.
Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard [24 mins]
The Story of Stuff is a short polemical animated documentary about the lifecycle of material goods. The documentary is critical of excessive consumerism and promotes sustainability.
The documentary is being used in elementary schools, arts programs, and economics classes as well as places of worship and corporate sustainability trainings. By February 2009, it had been seen in 228 countries and territories. According to the Los Angeles Times as of July 2010, the film had been translated into 15 languages and had been viewed by over 12 million people.
[from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Stuff]
http://www.storyofstuff.com
5.
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media by Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick [167 mins]
This film showcases Noam Chomsky, one of America's leading linguists and political dissidents. It also illustrates his message of how government and big media businesses cooperate to produce an effective propaganda machine in order to manipulate the opinions of the United States populous. The key example for this analysis is the simultaneous events of the massive coverage of the communist atrocities of Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia and the suppression of news of the US supported Indonesian invasion and subjugation of East Timor.
[written by Kenneth Chisholm, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104810/]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_Noam_Chomsky_and_the_Media
6.
Wag the Dog [97 mins]
After being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the president does not seem to have much of a chance of being re-elected. One of his advisers contacts a top Hollywood producer in order to manufacture a war in Albania that the president can heroically end, all through mass media.
[written by Christy from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120885/ ]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_Dog
