Film series to review
human rights
The 13th Annual
International Studies Film Series at Shippensburg University will focus on “From
Human Wrongs to Human Rights: A Global Undertaking.”
The four-film series, sponsored by
the International Studies Program, is in February, March and
April. Each film is at 7 p.m. in Grove Hall Forum and is open to the public.
The films are:
- Feb. 20: The Reckoning: The Battle for the International
Criminal Court. The film follows International Criminal Court prosecutors for three
years across four continents as they issue arrest warrants for political
leaders accused of genocide. Human rights cases present huge challenges, and
the prosecutors have a mandate but no police force. The film was nominated for
an Emmy for outstanding investigative journalism and best documentary.
- March 7: Who Killed
Chea Vichea?, followed by a talk by Rich Garella, the film’s producer. In 2004,
Cambodian union president Chea Vichea was assassinated in broad daylight. As
international pressure mounted, two men were arrested and convicted, and each
sentenced to twenty years in prison. Filmmaker Bradley Cox’s five-year investigation
reveals an elaborate cover-up that reaches the highest levels of Cambodian
society. The film won a Peabody Award in 2011. After the film, Garella will
discuss “Life and Death in a Fledgling Democracy.” Garella lived in Cambodia
from 1995 to 2003 where he held a variety of jobs, including managing editor of
The Cambodia Daily, press secretary
for Cambodia's main opposition party and consultant for a democracy development
agency. In addition to Cambodia, he has international experience in El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Lebanon and the Thai-Burma border.
- March 27: Taxi to the Dark Side. The torture and death in 2002 of an Afghan taxi
driver throws light on post-9/11 U.S. policy toward suspects in the war on
terror. Interviews and news footage tell a story of abuse at Bagram Air Base,
Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The film won the 2007 Academy Award for Best
Documentary Feature
- April 17: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. The film follows Chinese dissident artist and
activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an
increasing number of clashes with his government.
2/5/13