Documentary Educational Resources - Subject / Politics, Law & Justice / Reconciliation / All Films

Dead Presumed Missing?

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Dead Presumed Missing?
Buy Now: $295.00

Between 1963-74, about 2000 Turkish and Greek Cypriots disappeared during hostilities between the two communities of Cyprus. Following an abortive coup in 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied the north of the island. 200,000 Greek Cypriots, a third of the population, fled their homes, becoming refugees in the south. During the Turkish invasion, many died in the war, but their bodies were never recovered. Others (including women and children) vanished behind the advancing Turkish army. To this day, Turkey refuses to offer any explanations. The fate and whereabouts of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots missing remains an official secret. In the confusion of 1974, some, but not all, of the missing Greek Cypriots were buried hurriedly on the Greek side. The return of the remains of the rest cannot be realized since they are behind Turkish lines. In spite of various attempts at resolution, including a UN Committee, both sides still guard the unidentified hidden bones of each others' missing persons The film was shot in 2001 when the possibility of DNA identifiication redefined the problem and gave it a new urgency. By following the desperate attempts of two Greek women to discover the fates of their loved ones, the film explores the signficance of mortuary rituals and the different political lives of dead bodies among the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Useful in Political Anthropology classes, and to those interested in ethnic violence, recuperation, memory, rituals, DNA identification, and politics of the body.

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

Fambul Tok

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:52:00 GMT

Fambul Tok
Buy Now: $320.00

Seven years after the last bullet was fired, a decade of brutal fighting in Sierra Leone finds resolution as people come together to talk around traditional village bonfires. Some had perpetrated terrible crimes against friends or family. Some had faced horrible losses: loved ones murdered, limbs severed. But as they tell their stories, admit their wrongs, forgive, dance, and sing together, true reconciliation begins.

This is the story of Fambul Tok (Krio for "family talk"), and it is a story the world needs to hear. In Fambul Tok, this story is told by the people who are living it. Our guide is human rights activist John Caulker, a Sierra Leonean with a vision of peace for his country. Village by village, Caulker organizes a grassroots program to help communities hold reconciliation ceremonies — and hold fast to the new peace. He finds his people eager to turn ancient customs towards healing contemporary wounds, and the result is stories viewers will never forget.

Bonfire to bonfire, dark memories move into the light. Sahr and Nyumah, childhood friends torn apart when Nyumah was forced to cut Sahr's father's throat. Esther, raped as a child by a group of soldiers — among them her uncle Joseph, just 13 years old himself at the time. The radical forgiveness they request or offer is shocking – and inspiring. Their stories challenge Western perceptions of justice and provoke new ways of thinking about crime and punishment, conflict and community. Never is this more true than when Captain Mohamed Savage, the notorious rebel commander believed to have committed some of the worst atrocities in the war, is onscreen. A defiant, menacing voice in his first meetings with Caulker, we witness his transformation as he encounters Fambul Tok, admits who he is, and expresses his desire to return to the site of many of his alleged atrocities, to apologize.

Fambul Tok raises questions about efforts to create peace in Africa through Western-based traditions of crime and punishment, challenging the neo-colonial idea that Africa needs to be "saved" by the West. By illuminating a successful peace process that is based on reviving communal traditions of confession, forgiveness, and restorative justice, the film encourages individuals and communities around the world to engage in the kind of grass-roots transformation that leads to peace.

Disc 1 - Fambul Tok (82 min, 2011)

Includes the original, multiple-award-winning film by Sara Terry, and its epilogue (18 min, 2012), in which viewers follow notorious rebel commander Captain Mohamed Savage as he returns to his village

Disc 2 - Fambul Tok: Forgiving Savage (52 min, 2012)

The brand new, never-before-released educational version, produced by Catalyst for Peace. This version integrates material from the epilogue, as well as new, previously unreleased footage, edited to under an hour for ease of classroom and community use.

Also on this disc, two special bonus features which highlight how the film itself is in turn sparking new transformation:

American Teens "Walk the Tok" (13 min) - Middle schoolers in Philadelphia, PA (USA) use the lessons of Fambul Tok to resolve conflicts in their classroom and school.

Fambul Tok Ex-Combatant Workshop: Waterloo (14 min) - Captain Savage works with Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone to screen the film featuring his story and to facilitate a workshop for over 40 former leaders of various armed groups, encouraging them to follow his example and apologize for the what they did in the war.

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

Prison Pups

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:58:00 GMT

Prison Pups
Buy Now: $320.00

Prison Pups follows four inmates as they raise and train service dogs for the handicapped and hearing impaired. At Concord Farm, a minimum-security facility in Massachusetts, these inmates learn to take on the responsibility of a puppy and find in themselves not only a sense of confidence but also a capacity for nurturing and affection. The experience is profound as they become empowered by their role as trainers.

"Prison Pups is an engaging documentary that portrays the benefits of this program for both inmates and NEADS clients. The first person interviews make it clear that prison life is hard, but that the program enhances not only the life of the disabled, but enriches the lives of the prisoners as well. As the prisoners interact with and talk about "their" dogs, and with the NEADS staff and clients, they seem not only humane, but more human, in contrast to typical media presentations. Prison Pups is highly recommended for junior high through adult level audiences."
— Pamela White, MLS, Health Science Libraries, University of Rochester

"Prison Pups, like other Dungan Bouvrie films, explores its subject matter from a cultural perspective, while using a method of filming which Dungan Bouvrie describes as "ethnographic." This technique is based on the filmmaker spending extended periods of time with each film's subjects, while keeping a discreetly low profile and respectful demeanor.
— Lesley Today, Lesley University

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Regent Theater, Arlington, MA, 2008

Breckenridge Film Fest, Breckenridge, CO, 2007

Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA, 2007

Somerville Community Access TV (SCAT), 2007

Plymouth Independent Film Festival, MA, 2007

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

Peacing It Together

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 10:57:00 GMT

Peacing It Together
Buy Now: $320.00

Converging on a secluded island off the west coast of Canada, a group of Israeli, Palestinian, and Canadian teenagers participated in a unique peace and filmmaking camp. Organized by the Peace It Together Society, the three-week experience brought together bitter enemies from across the globe to the forests of British Columbia where they learned to live and co-create in harmony.

During their stay, they participated in dialogue sessions before being divided into small groups to collaborate on films about the Middle East conflict. Through the lens of a camera they created seven short films that reflected their lives, fears, and hopes.

This double-disc set contains these seven short films, as well as Peacing It Together, a 29-minute documentary which follows the students on their remarkable and inspiring journeys. Also included is an hour-and-a-half of additional footage, featuring workshops, discussions and additional interviews. An extensive teacher's guide is available for classroom use.

“Lights, Camera, Hope!”
— Reader's Digest

“30 teenagers, 7 short films, and 1 dream of peace.”
— Matt Hays, New York Times

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

Sharing a New Song

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

Sharing a New Song
Buy Now: $320.00

Sharing a New Song brings together, albeit in a small way, the people of the two legendary world superpowers, the United States of America and the former Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the conflict extended beyond political concerns and manifested itself most noticeably in the alarmingly negative opinions that citizens of the two countries held about each other.

The film chronicles the efforts of a small group of people in Boston, Massachusetts who, in collaboration with their counterparts in the Soviet Union, form an amateur chorus group as an attempt to create understanding and promote peace through the medium of music.

Making a strong statement about the power of individual belief and the ability to transform mindsets through peaceful means, the documentary features poignant interviews with those involved: teachers, students, a cosmonaut, cinematographers and a photojournalist.

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

Bushman's Secret

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 09:36:00 GMT

Bushman's Secret
Buy Now: $320.00

When South African filmmaker Rehad Desai travels to the Kalahari to investigate global interest in ancient Bushmen knowledge, he meets Jan van der Westhuizen, a fascinating Khomani San traditional healer. Jan's struggle to live close to nature is hampered by centuries of colonial exploitation of the San Bushmen and of their land.

Unable to survive as they once did hunting and gathering, the Khomani now live in a state of poverty that threatens to see the last of this community forever. One plant could make all the difference. Hoodia, a cactus used by Bushmen for centuries, has caught the attention of a giant pharmaceutical company. It now stands to decide the fate of the Khomani San.

Bushman's Secret features breathtaking footage of the Kalahari landscape, and exposes us to a world where modernity collides with ancient ways, at a time when each has, strangely, come to rely on the other.

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.

The Bharvad Predicament

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 09:36:00 GMT

The Bharvad Predicament
Buy Now: $320.00

Bharvad cattle herdsmen have been nomadic pastoralists for centuries. This film presents the conflict that has arisen between the local, landholding Kanbi farmers and the Bharvad in Dhrangadhra, western India. They are in the midst of a particularly dry season and competition for the available land and water resources has escalated producing a state of tension between the farmers and the herdsmen. The farmers appear to be supported by the government while the Bharvad are tolerated as a quaint but relatively unimportant political entity. The history of the relationship between the farmers and the pastoralists is reviewed in depth and both points of view are represented. This film clearly demonstrates the influences that geography, natural resources and governmental policies have on the survival of particular ethnic groups and cultures.

Visit Reconciliation to see additional products in this category.