This Is Where We Take Our Stand

Open Secrets

2004 · ★ 6.7

This provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.

Poster Girl

2010 · ★ 7.8

POSTER GIRL is the story of Robynn Murray, an all-American Apple pie high-school cheerleader turned tough-as-nails machine gunner in the Iraq War and a “poster girl” for women in combat, distinguished by Army Magazine’s cover shot. Now Sgt. Robynn Murray comes home from Iraq, to face a new kind of battle she never anticipated. Her tough-as-nails exterior begins to crack, leaving Robynn struggling with the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Shot and directed by first-time filmmaker Sara Nesson, POSTER GIRL is an emotionally raw documentary that follows Robynn over the course of two years as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, using art and poetry to redefine her life.

Tell Spring Not to Come This Year

2015 · ★ 6.6

When NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army (ANA) took over control of Helmand Province, an extremely dangerous region where attacks by Taliban fighters are the order of the day. Security, much less peace, would seem to be unattainable; it is even difficult to find a common language in a country where everyone mistrusts each other. The directors of this film accompanied an ANA company during a year of frontline duty in Helmand. The soldiers are paid irregularly, there are not enough supplies and their equipment is substandard. They cannot fight a war with the equipment left behind by the ISAF.

Farewell, My Indian Soldier

2016 · ★ 6

A young woman researches the hidden story of Indian soldiers who came to fight in France and Belgium during the World War I. The presence of these 140,000 soldiers in Europe is a virtually unknown fact of history.

Sons and Daughters

1967

The Vietnam War protest movement from the student point of view is the basis for this documentary shot in the San Francisco Bay area and dealing mainly with a protest march from the University of California to the Oakland Army Terminal in 1966.

Shooting VS Shooting

2011

The film – documentary “Shooting vs Shooting” presents a group of astonishing stories about journalists who were afflicted in the Iraq war, by following a journalist’s journey in Baghdad in 2009 and the story of a mother who seeks for an answer to the question why her son got killed while his only weapon was his camera. “Shooting vs Shooting” narrates incredible moments and adventures, reveals unknown sides to the facts and shows the dramatic stories of media workers who lost their lives, trying to freely broadcast the truth to the public opinion. Through the documentary, we witness the absurdity of war, the responsibilities of governments and armies and the atrociousness of blinded fanatics.

Soldiers of the Vine

2016 · ★ 8

After years of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, six US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan travel to Peru on a quest for healing. With the help and guidance of three brothers who are traditional healers, they take ayahuasca and other plant medicines during a 10-day retreat in the Amazon rainforest.

NATO Targets Yugoslavia

1999

An anti-war documentary featuring original on-the-ground footage and interviews from the 1999 NATO war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Watch the 78 days of untold destruction, bombing bridges, hospitals, schools, and dropping up to 11 tons of depleted uranium across the country that NATO considers a successful “humanitarian intervention” in Yugoslavia. Filmmaker Gloria La Riva lifts the veil of imperialist propaganda to reveal the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.

Czech Peace

2010 · ★ 5.7

From the makers of legendary CZECH DREAM, a hilarious documentary about a hoax hypermarket, comes CZECH PEACE, a new playfully explosive flm about the mayor of a small Czech village and his attempts to foil the American plan to build its 762nd military base right on his doorstep. The players in this story are everyone from villagers to George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, peace activists and lobbyists representing American arms manufacturers. Can the Mayor of Trokavec (population 80) take the US on? CZECH PEACE shows the workings of geopolitics and the way they affect the little people. The personal clashes with the impersonal, the specifc with the universal, and an individual with the so-called great history.

Kasunyatan

Abdul Rohman is a student and one of the caretakers in the Kaliopak Cultural Islamic Boarding School. He has spent these last two years there. Process of finding true self, peace, and knowledge, he found in this place. Kaliopak Cultural Islamic Boarding School has become a ‘savannah’ of knowledge and art for him. This space has helped him in the process of channeling his idealism in his ideology of thought and views on life.

Henry Moore: London 1940-42

1963

A montage, using documentary material filmed during the war, shows the beginnings of an air attack and Londoners entering shelters. From the silent deserted streets, the film moves underground into the world of Henry Moore's shelter drawings. People sit along subway platforms, looking after their children, settling down for the night, sleeping in bunks and on the floor. Above ground London burns. Henry Moore used the eye of a sculptor in portraying the stolidity and enduring patience of a besieged people. This film brings together a unique series of drawings which are some of the most remarkable achievements of an artist during wartime. Eliminating all narration, it explores, on several metaphoric levels, the very nature of human consciousness and creativity.

Deserter

2007 · ★ 6

Deserter follows Ryan Johnson and his wife Jen during their flight from the Central Valley of California to Toronto, Canada. Johnson deserted the American army after hearing that he was going to be deployed to Iraq, despite assurances that this would not happen. Like many of his contemporaries, Johnson only joined the army because he could not find a job, and he sees the war in Iraq as both illegal and immoral. Desertion means imprisonment, so he decides to flee, realising that there will be no way back. Johnson seeks advice from various helpful organisations that guide him and Jen to Canada. The employees include both Vietnam veterans and young soldiers who have already served in Iraq.