Films screen on Mondays at 7 p.m.
Quiet Rage: The Stanford Prison Study
27 September
Directed by Ken Musen, 1991, 51 minutes
In Quiet Rage Philip Zimbardo describes a prison simulation experiment conducted at Stanford University in 1971 with students in the roles of prisoners and guards. This film features archival footage, flashbacks, post-experiment interviews with the prisoners and guards, and comparisons with real prisons. It documents surprise arrests by city police and shows why the two-week study was terminated after only six days. Although the experiment took place decades ago the questions raised in the film about the human capacity to inflict and endure pain are important to contemporary discussions of torture and democracy.
Death and the Maiden
5 October
Directed by Roman Polanski, 1994, 103 minutes
In Death and the Maiden a woman in South America, played by Sigourney Weaver, finds herself hosting a doctor who may have tortured her when she was held as a political prisoner during the military dictatorship. The doctor, played by Ben Kingsley, denies the accusation while her husband wrestles with the implications of this charged encounter. The fluid power dynamics between the three characters raise issues of justice and reconciliation, especially as related to the prosecution of war crimes. This Roman Polanski film is based on a play of the same name by noted author Ariel Dorfman.
Torturing Democracy
12 October
Directed by Sherry Jones, 2008, 90 minutes
The documentary Torturing Democracy explores the evolution of a United States policy that justifies the use of coercive interrogation techniques. The film written and produced by one of America’s exemplary documentary reporters, Sherry Jones, is the result of a collaborative effort by the National Security Archive (which has collected thousands of documents on counter-terrorism) and Washington Media (involved in investigative research since the Abu Ghraib scandal) to preserve an institutional memory of how torture became an accepted weapon in the United States arsenal. ** Winner, 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award **
My Country, My Country
26 October
Directed by Laura Poitras, 2006, 90 minutes
Filmmaker Laura Poitras shot the documentary My Country, My Country in the months leading up to the 2005 elections in Iraq to create an intimate portrait of Iraqis living under U.S. occupation. Through Dr. Riyadh, an Iraqi medical doctor, father of six and Sunni political candidate she captures the passions and fears of a nation anticipating “Western-style democracy”. ** Nominated, 2007 Oscar Award **
The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court
2 November
Directed by Pamela Yates, 2009, 95 minutes
Over 120 countries have united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators, no matter how powerful, of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The Reckoning follows dynamic ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and his team for three years across four continents as he issues arrest warrants for Lord’s Resistance Army leaders in Uganda, puts Congolese warlords on trial, shakes up the Colombian justice system, and charges Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur. ** An Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival **
Well-Founded Fear
16 November
Directed by Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson, 2000, 119 minutes
Well-Founded Fear is a documentary about the American political asylum system that takes you into the closed corridors of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) where American ideals collide with human rights norms. Foreigners that are already in the United States, having fled their home countries, have the opportunity to apply for asylum if that person establishes a “well-founded fear” of persecution in his or her home country. Filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson provide a close-up examination of the way that the United States decides the cases of those applying for political asylum, showing the tenuous balance between those who grant and receive protection in the world today.