Revolutionary Film Festival: Civil liberties in a time of crisis

February 16-17, 2007
University of Oregon Law School Room 175
Friday, February 16, 6 pm to 10 pm
Saturday, February 17, 10 am to 11 pm

The Civil Liberties Defense Center; American Constitution Society (U of Oregon chapter); and the National Lawyers Guild (Eugene chapter) are co-sponsoring a civil liberties film festival the evening of Friday, February 16 and all day Saturday, February 17. Each film will have a short introduction, some by local civil rights attorneys and others by film-makers and subjects of the films who have been invited to attend.

Admission - suggested donation $2 to $5 per film; or get a great one-time deal on an annual membership in the Civil Liberties Defense Center for $25, with film admission for both days included. Popcorn and other refreshments will be served.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16
6:00 - We Interrupt This Empire - Collaborative work by San Francisco Bay Area independent video activists, documenting the shutdown of the San Francisco financial district following the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
7:30 - The Torture Question - Frontline documentary about Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.
9:20 - Mumia: A Case for Reasonable Doubt - Convicted in 1981 of killing a white Philadephia police officer, Mumia Abu-Jamal was imprisoned in 1981. His conviction contains irregularities in both the evidence and the conduct of his trial.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17
10:00 - This Is My Home - Documentary about New Orleans residents who remain displaced 16 months after Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of families are still shut out of their homes and remain displaced across the country.
11:00 - Prisoners of Katrina - Documentary about the people in jail when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, who were abandoned by the jail staff.
12:05 - Doing Justice: The Life and Trials of Arthur Kinoy - Award-winning documentary about a NLG attorney who represented the Rosenbergs and continued to take on controversial civil rights cases through the Watergate era.
1:15 - Norfolk Four - Four veterans of the U.S. Navy were convicted of crimes they did not commit. This film is a review of the case by leading experts in the fields of pathology, DNA analysis, crime reconstruction, and confessions.
2:00 - Civil Liberties Since 9/11 - Informative and shocking panel discussion with Lynne Stewart, Clark Kissinger, Len Weinglass, Michael Ratner, Abdeen Jabara, chaired by Michael Smith.
3:50 - Forest For the Trees - Inside look at a team of young activists and old lefties battling the U.S. government in Judi Bari vs. the FBI. Bari was an Earth First! leader severely injured when her car was bombed, and she was arrested as a terrorist - charges later dropped. Suspecting a ploy by the FBI to discredit her and Earth First!, Judi sued and won!
5:10 - Juvies - Compelling documentary about 12 juveniles tried as adults. Includes commentary from academics, doctors, a former D.A., and others who discuss the trend in recent years across the United States to try juveniles as adults.
6:30 - Education of Shelby Knox - A 15-year-old girl's transformation from conservative Southern Baptist to liberal Christian and ardent feminist parallels her fight for sex education and gay rights in Lubbock, Texas.
7:00 - Fighting for Justice: The Coram Nobis Cases - Documentary about Japanese-Americans who made the choice to get arrested instead of go to the internment camps, and were prosecuted.
7:30 - Blacklist: Recovering the Life of Canada Lee - The life of African American actor Canada Lee, who was persecuted for his interracial marriage and blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the McCarthy commission.
8:15 - Legacy of Torture: The War Against The Black Liberation Movement - Video about five former Black Panther Party members. (One of the Panthers has been invited to attend)
9:20 - Hearne, Texas: Scenes from the Drug War - The story of a community engaged in a struggle to clear the names of those swept up in a corrupt drug raid; produced in association with the ACLU of Texas.
10:00 - Thelton Henderson's American Journey - The challenges the first black attorney in the Civil Rights Division of JFK's Justice Dept. confronted being a black man in authority within the all-white world of the American legal system.