4th Annual New York Peace Film Festival

Peace Film Festival Features Peace Efforts in 10 Countries

New York, NY - The Fourth Annual New York Peace Film Festival (NYPFF) starts with a kickoff party Friday, March 11 at 7pm at All Souls Unitarian Church, 1157 Lexington Avenue (at 80^th Street), followed by two days of screenings at the same location. The Peace & Justice Task Force of All Souls Unitarian Church is co-sponsoring this year’s festival. The opening gala will feature a number of the film makers whose works will be screened in the festival speaking about their films. The public is invited free of charge to the kick-off party, but an RSVP for attending the party is requested and should be sent to info@nypeacefilmfest.com . 

This year’s festival partners include the American Friends Service Committee, NY Metro Region; Granny Peace Brigade; Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW); New York War Resisters League; Pax Christi, New York; Peace Action New York State (PANYS); and Resistance Cinema.

The following two-day festival will screen a total of 12 films, including documentary shorts, full-length documentaries, and the 1958 anti-nuke classic, A Thousand Cranes the story of Sadako, a 12 year old victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima . Saturday begins however at 1pm with one hour for children featuring Kamishibai—Japanese story telling appropriate for 3 + year olds. The Kamishibai is free of charge and is then followed by the film A Thousand Cranes, appropriate for the whole family. Saturday continues with three other films, then concludes with the world premier of Twice Bombed, Twice Survived, an homage to Tsutomu Yamaguchi, one of a small number of people to survive the bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and his advocacy for a non-nuclear world.

A second day of films, starting at 1pm, continues on Sunday beginning with Beating the Bomb, a chronicle of the British anti-nuclear movement and finishes with a 7:15 showing of Un Pokito De Tanta Verdad: A Little Bit of So Much Truth, which documents the 6 month non-violent rebellion in the Mexican state of Oxaca in 2006 and it’s violent repression. Ticket prices for the Saturday and Sunday festival are $16 in advance for the day’s screenings, and $18 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased through http://nypff.eventbrite.com. Cash only at the door. For more information visit the NYPFF website at www.nypeacefilmfest.com.

The complete festival schedule is:

Saturday, March 12

1 – 2pm: Kamishibai: Japanese story telling for children 3 + years old. 

2pm: A Thousand Cranes; 75 minutes. A young victum of radiation sickness inspires hope for peace and reconciliation. The classic 1958 film in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Sojiro Kimura. 

3:30pm: Flash of Hope: Hibakusha Traveling the World; 62 minutes. Survivors of the a-bomb travel the world in their quest for a nuclear-free world. Directed by Erika Bagnarello; produced by Peace Boat in association with Costa Rica Films. 

4:45pm: Standing Army; 70 minutes. Why does the United States have 716 military bases and 250,000 troups on foriegn soil (not including our bases and soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan)? How do the populations surrounding the bases view them? Directed by Thomas Fazi and Enrico Parenti. 

6pm: Another Courage; 10 minutes. "The images are Iraq, the experiences are Vietnam." The trauma of battle and the need for help re-integrating into civilian life transcends any specific conflict. Directed by Erik Sween; followed by Q & A; 

7pm: Twice Bombed, Twice Survived: the Legacy of Tsutomu Yamaguchi; 70 minutes. About 160 people survived both atomic bombings and late in life Mr. Yamaguchi became an advocate for peace. Directed by Hidetaka Inazuka; followed by Q & A; 

Sunday, March 13
 

1pm: Beating the Bomb; 71 minutes. Chronicles the development of the anti-nuclear movement in the UK and its many victories. Directed by Wolfgang Matt and Meera Patel; followed by Q & A.

2:45pm: Death & Taxes; 30 minutes. Documents the full spectrum of people refusing to pay war taxes, from token underpayments to refusing to pay any tax at all; the risks, the tactics, the successes. Produced by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee. 

3:30pm: Free World; 39 minutes. An 18 person delegation from the US travels to Hiroshima & Nagasaki to seek forgiveness. Directed by Ashley Michael Karitas; followed by Q & A.

4:45pm: Billboard from Bethlehem; 63 minutes. What happens when Palestinian & Israeli children gather in Bethlehem to paint a mural depicting reconciliation? Produced by iwagepeace.org; 

6pm: The Children of Adam; 6 minutes. Reflections on a visit to Iran and the American portrayal of Iran. Nina Aghaheikzadeh, filmmaker. 

Silent Screams; 36 minutes. A trip to Iran & a wedding in the Kurdish village of Qarchighah highlight the common threads that unite all people. Produced and narrated by Karla Hanson.

Q & A session with both filmmakers follows the second screening. 

7:15pm: Un Pokito De Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth); 90 minutes. A 6-month non-violent uprising in the Mexican State of Oxaca is violently repressed, but a people find dignity and solidarity. Directed by Jill Freidberg.

* Time and line up of the films are subject to change