World view
August 14, 2006

Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center bowed in theaters last week, and fittingly, a number of recent product announcements offer a look at conflicts around the world.

Specifically related to WTC, Berlin Film Festival winner The Road to Guantanamo is being released on disc on Oct. 24 (prebook Sept. 21; $24.96) by Sony. Michael Winterbottom’s controversial film tells the story of three British Muslim men who were imprisoned at Guantanamo for two years without charges being filed.

Engage the world

Moving over to Africa, Cinema Libre is bringing to the forefront the worsening political and humanitarian crises in Darfur. Darfur Diaries streets Sept. 26 (prebook Aug. 29; $19.95). It was shot in 2004, although the story continues today. As Cinema Libre’s press materials say, “This film seeks to provide space for the marginalized victims of atrocities to speak and to engage the world.”

Engage your customers

Looking at another hot topic area, Facets on Sept. 26 (prebook Sept. 5) is delivering North Korea: A Day in the Life ($29.95), which follows a day in the life of a North Korean family as they go about doing all the things we do—work, school—while being faced with government propoganda.

And Koch reminds us that its Occupation: Dreamland documents the American soldier’s experience in Iraq, and Wall, by a director who identifies herself as both an Arab and a Jew, offers a picture of the turmoil in the region between Israel and Gaza. Both are available now.

Documentaries can entertain, but they can also teach us about our world.

Posted by on August 14, 2006 | Comments (0)