Monday, February 12, 2007

Pacific Film Archive Theater
UC Berkeley Campus: 2575 Bancroft Way at Bowditch

The United Nations Association Film Festival, the world's only public film forum, for exploring UN related issues, presents the following two documentaries:

Armenian Lullaby-a short video poem on effects of war and violence and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars about a group of musicians from Sierra Leone who are refugees in Guinea and find refuge, purpose, and a source of power by giving musical voice to the challenges and successes of survival.

7:00 PM Introduction

7:10 PM Armenian Lullaby (5 minutes) Armenia/Russia/USA
Director/Producer: Irina Patkanian

Filmmaker Irina Patkanian's great great grandfather, Rafael (1832-1892) wrote a poem about an Armenian mother whose baby can only go to sleep to the sound of battle songs in a land ravaged by wars. In the summer of 2003, Irina visited Armenia to shoot her film Armenian Lullaby. She created a moving video poem-a beautiful montage of images propelled by the reading of Rafael Patkanian's poem by Lilit Popovian.

7:20 PM Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (80 minutes) Sierra Leone/USA
Directors/Producers: Zach Niles and Banker White

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are a band of six Sierra Leone musicians who have been living as refugees in the Republic of Guinea after a brutal civil war (1991-2002) forced them from their homes. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved through their music. The film chronicles the band over three years, from Guinean refugee camps back to war ravaged Sierra Leone and reveals the unique and inspiring stories of survival and rebirth through the universal language of music. Filmmakers will be present.

Speakers and discussion: Zach Niles and Banker White, Filmmakers; Darren Zook, Lecturer, International and Area Studies and Political Science, UCB; Kieu Tri Tran, Senior, PACS Major, UCB

Tickets:
Admission is $10 for general public and $8 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the door beginning at 6:00pm.

Location:
Pacific Film Archive Theater
2575 Bancroft Way at Bowditch

Co-Sponsors:

UCB: African-American Studies Dept., ASUC, Berkeley Model UN, Center for African Studies, Human Rights Center, Institute of Slavic, East-European & Eurasian Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies Field, International and Area Studies, International House, Peace and Conflict Studies, SACRUN

COMMUNITY: American Friends Service Committee--San Francisco, Amnesty International--Western Region, Democratic World Federalists, Frank C Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic at USF, Human Rights Advocates, Karl L. Mettinger, World Affairs Council Northern California

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION FILM FESTIVAL (UNAFF) was established ten years ago at Stanford University by film critic and educator Jasmina Bojic in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNAFF screens documentaries by international filmmakers dealing with topics such as human rights, environmental survival, women's issues, children, refugee protection, homelessness, racism, disease control, universal education, war and peace. By bringing together filmmakers, the academic community and the general public, UNAFF offers a unique opportunity for creative exchange and education among groups and individuals often separated by geography, ethnicity, and economic constraints. For more information about the festival please see www.unaff.org.

For more information please call 510-769-7350.

• 6:30 pm Reception (in front of the PFA Theater, if weather permits)
• 7:00 pm Introduction
• 7:10 pm Armenian Lullaby (5 minutes) Armenia/Russia/USA - Filmmaker Irina Patkanian?s great great grandfather, Rafael (1832-1892) wrote a poem about an Armenian mother whose baby can only go to sleep to the sound of battle songs in a land ravaged by wars. In the summer of 2003, Irina visited Armenia to shoot her film Armenian Lullaby. She created a moving video poem-a beautiful montage of images propelled by the reading of Rafael Patkanian?s poem by Lilit Popovian.
• 7:25 pm Stealing a Nation (56 minutes) Chagos Islands/UK/USA is an extraordinary film about the plight of the people of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean-secretly and brutally expelled from their homeland by British governments in the late 1960s and early 1970s to make way for an American military base. The base, on the main island of Diego Garcia, was a launch pad for the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Diego Garcia is America?s largest military base in the world outside the US. There are more than 4,000 troops, two bomber runways, thirty warships and a satellite spy station. Before the Americans came, more than 2,000 people lived on the islands, many with roots back to the late 18th century. There were thriving villages, a school, a hospital, a church, a railway and an undisturbed way of life. The islands were, and still are, a British crown colony. In the 1960s, the government of Harold Wilson struck a secret deal with the United States to hand over Diego Garcia. Unknown to Parliament and to the US Congress, the British government plotted with Washington to expel the entire population-in secrecy and in breach of the United Nations Charter.
• 8:45 pm God Sleeps in Rwanda (29 minutes) - The 1994 Rwandan genocide left the country nearly seventy percent female, handing Rwanda?s women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. An inspiring story of loss and redemption, God Sleeps in Rwanda focuses on the spirit of women survivors to overcome the genocide?s legacy of grief and loss. The film follows five courageous women as they rebuild their lives and, in doing so, redefine women?s roles in Rwandan society and bring hope to a wounded nation.Academy nominated documentary for 2006.