In case you're wondering how influential documentary film can be in creating public awareness about just causes and recongizing those who've made a change for the better, conside that the work of the three brave and determined women honored as this year's Nobel Peace Prize Laureates has been made known to the wide world through documentary films.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and peace activist Leymah Gbowee, whose extraordinary strength, persistence and righteousness brought an end to devastating civil war in their country, are central characters in Pray The Devil Back to Hell, a documentary made by Abigail Disney, Gini Reticker and Pamela Hogan, and screened widely in international film festivals and for government authorities around the globe. The film is now scheduled for broadcast on PBS on October 18, as part of ITVS' Women And Girls Lead series, which includes 50 documentaries about the achievements of women in leadership positions who are changing the world for the better. While awaiting the film's broadcast date, view the trailer.
Journalist and peace activist Tawakul Karman, the third of this year's Laureates, founded and heads Women Journalists Without Chains, an organization that has promoted peace and civil rights, and opposed tyranical repression in Yemen. Karman's work is covered in a documentary short, A Tale of Two Protests, that can be viewed in its entirely online.
Documentary film. Real life. Real drama. Real change.
Comments