SUGGESTED FILMS & VIDEOS
Human Rights

Films are listed on the page chronologically. Alphabetical listing includes:

Title: Strong at the Broken Places: Turning Trauma into Recovery. 1998, USA. 38 mins. Color.

PBS Status: PBS national service has never carried.

Description: A new film from the producers of "Defending Our Lives," "Strong at the Broken Places" is the story of vastly different lives; but the death camps of Cambodia, the violents streets of South Boston, the amputee ward of a V.A. hospital and the cell of an alcohol and drug addicted inmate yield remarkable survivors, all of whom heal themselves by helping others.
Their stories are both inspirational and instructional, helping to infuse the word "hero" with meaning for our daily lives. Most of us have or will face serious trauma in our lives. As one of the film's subjects explains, "Sooner or later lifes breaks us all, but with courage, hope, and the support of people who care, many become strong at the broken places." Whether it is the death of loved ones, family or personal illness, crime and tragedies all take their toll on us. But by reaching out to others we can become "wounded healers," and in so doing find our way to recovery and meaning.

Credits: Directored by Margaret Lazarus & Renner Wunderlich.

Awards/Festivals/Screenings: 2000 Selection for "Outstanding Documentary Films of the Year" series screening—Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, PASS Award 2000—National Council on Crime & Deliquency, The People's Choice Award—Vermont Int'l Film Festival, 2nd Place—Columbus Film Festival Festivals: Washington DC Int'l Film Festival, DoubleTake Documentary Festival, New Orleans Film & Video Festival, American Psychological Association Annual Conference '99, Convergence Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, American Public Health Film Festival, Preventing Violence & Beyond: Summit '98 Film Festival.

Broadcast Rights Owner: Cambridge Documentary Films. Telephone: 617-484-3993, Fax: 617-484-0745.. cdf@shore.net

Broadcast License Fee: Coming soon.

Video: Available. Rental: $60/day, $110/wk    Purchase: $195

Previews: Not available. If you rent and decide to buy, your one day rental charge (not including shipping charge) can be deducted from the purchase price.

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Title: Current Events. 1989, USA. 38 and 56 mins. Color.

PBS Status: PBS national service has never carried.

Description: Unspeakable things occur daily in the world, but for most of us (most of the time) they are like electronic interference on the screens of our personal lives. Current Events is an essay film which explores the questions that cross our threshholds along with the nightly news.How can one see and hear immeasurable woe and suffering and find a meaningful way to respond? Arlyck begins with the memory of his grandfather who to him exemplifies the definition of a "mensch"--a responsible person connected to the world--and he puts forth the question of what it means to be a "mensch" at the end of the twentieth century.
To sort out this question, Arlyck takes the viewer from his home in upstate New York, to Senegal,Central America, Colorado and back to the Hudson Valley, probing the demands of conscience and the ways they can be met. A serious subject and a serious journey explored with both humor and thoughtful observations on the ethical dilemnas of modern life.

Credits: Ralph Arlyck.

Awards/Festivals/Screenings: Best Documentary—Atlanta Film Festival, Best of Show—Three Rivers Arts Festival, Special Jury Award—US Film & Video Festival, Fleur de Lis—Louisville Film & Video Festival, Jury Award—New York Exposition of Short Film & Video, awards—Ann Arbor Film & Video Festival, San Francisco Art Institute Film and Video Festival, Charlotte Film & Video Festival, Sinking Creek Film & Video Festival, Humbolt Film & Video Festival.   Festivals: New York Film Festival, Leningrad Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Vermont World Peace Festival, Jewish Film Festival (San Francisco & London), Black Maria Film & Video Festival, North Carolina International Film & Video Festival, Suffolk County Film & Video Festival, & Athens Film & Video Festival.

Broadcast Rights Owner: New Day Films, Inc. Telephone: 201.652-6590, Fax: 201.652-1973. orders@newday.com

Broadcast License Fee: Coming soon.

Video: Available.   VHS Rental: $75   VHS Purchase: $99   (55 min version also available in 16 mm same price).

Previews: Coming soon

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