Peace Film Festival Features Global Peace Efforts

New York, NY . The Fourth Annual New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) starts with a kickoff party Friday, March 11 at 7pm at All Souls Unitarian Church, 1157 Lexington Avenue (at 80th Street), followed by two days of screenings at the same location.   The Peace & Justice Task Force of All Souls Unitarian Church is co-sponsoring this year’s festival.   The opening gala will feature a number of the film makers whose works will be screened in the festival speaking about their films.

The public is invited free of charge to the kick-off party, but an RSVP for attending the party is requested and should be sent to info@nypeacefilmfest.com or by calling 917-692-2210.   This year’s festival partners include the American Friends Service Committee, NY Metro Region; Granny Peace Brigade; Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW); New York War Resisters League; Pax Christi, New York; Peace Action New York State (PANYS); and Resistance Cinema.

The following two-day festival will screen a total of 12 films, including documentary shorts, full-length documentaries, and the 1958 anti-nuke classic, A Thousand Cranes the story of Sadako, a 12 year old victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima .   Saturday begins however at 1pm with one hour for children featuring Kamishibai””Japanese story telling appropriate for 3 + year olds.

The Kamishibai is free of charge and is then followed by the film A Thousand Cranes , appropriate for the whole family.   Saturday continues with three other films, then concludes with the world premier of Twice Bombed, Twice Survived , an homage to Tsutomu Yamaguchi, one of a small number of people to survive the bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and his advocacy for a non-nuclear world.

A second day of films, starting at 1pm, continues on Sunday beginning with Beating the Bomb , a chronicle of the British anti-nuclear movement and finishes with a 7:15 showing of Un Pokito De Tanta Verdad: A Little Bit of So Much Truth , which documents the 6 month non-violent rebellion in the Mexican state of Oaxaca in 2006 and it’s violent repression.   Ticket prices for the Saturday and Sunday festival are $16 in advance for the day’s screenings, and $18 at the door.   Advance tickets can be purchased through http://nypff.eventbrite.com .   Cash only at the door.   For more information visit the NYPFF website at www.nypeacefilmfest.com .

The complete festival schedule is:

Saturday, March 12

1 – 2pm: Kamishibai: Japanese story telling for children 3 + years old.

2pm:   A Thousand Cranes; 75 minutes.   A young victim of radiation sickness inspires hope  for peace and reconciliation.   The classic 1958 film in Japanese with English subtitles.   Directed by Sojiro Kimura.

3:30pm: Flash of Hope: Hibakusha Traveling the World ; 62 minutes.   Survivors of the a-bomb travel the world in their quest for a nuclear-free world.   Directed by Erika Bagnarello; produced by Peace Boat in association with Costa Rica Films.

4:45pm: Standing Army; 70 minutes . Why does the United States have 716 military bases and 250,000 troups on foriegn soil ( not including our bases and soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan)?   How do the populations surrounding the bases view them? Directed by Thomas Fazi and Enrico Parenti.

6pm: Another Courage; 10 minutes . "The images are Iraq, the experiences are Vietnam."   The trauma of battle and the need for help re-integrating into civilian life transcends any specific conflict.   Directed by Erik Sween; followed by Q & A;

7pm: Twice Bombed, Twice Survived: The Legacy of Tsutomo Yamaguchi; 70 minutes . About 160 people survived both atomic bombings and late in life Mr. Yamaguchi became an advocate for peace.   Directed by Hidetaka Inazuka; followed by Q & A;

Sunday, March 13

1pm: Beating the Bomb; 71 minutes.   Chronicles the development of the anti-nuclear movement in the UK and its many victories.   Directed by Wolfgang Matt and Meera Patel; followed by Q & A.

2:45: Death & Taxes; 30 minutes.   Documents the full spectrum of people refusing to pay war taxes, from token underpayments to refusing to pay any tax at all; the risks, the tactics, the successes.   Produced by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

3:30: Free World; 39 minutes.   An 18 person delegation from the US travels to Hiroshima & Nagasaki to seek forgiveness.    Directed by Ashley Michael Karitas; followed by  Q & A.

4:45pm: Billboard from Bethlehem; 63 minutes.   What happens when Palestinian  & Israeli children gather in Bethlehem to paint a mural depicting reconciliation?    Produced by iwagepeace.org;

6pm: The Children of Adam ; 6 minutes.   Reflections on a visit to Iran and the American portrayal of Iran.   Nina Aghaheikzadeh, filmmaker.

Silent Screams; 36 minutes.   A trip to Iran  & a wedding in the Kurdish village of Qarchighah highlight the common threads that unite all people.    Produced and narrated by Karla Hanson.

Q & A session with both filmmakers follows the second screening.

7:15pm: Un Pokito De Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth); 90 minutes.   A 6-month non-violent uprising in the Mexican State of Oaxaca is violently repressed, but a people find dignity and solidarity.    Directed by Jill Freidberg.

For more information contact Jonathan Fluck at jonathan@ nypeacefilmfest.com.

Tweet