Global Voices Celebrates Independence Day In July With Docs Offering An International Perspective On Independence
Four Documentaries Examine the Efforts and Struggles Around the World as People and Organizations Strive for Democracy, Independence, and Freedom
(San Francisco, CA, June 16, 2011)— In honor of Independence Day this July 4, 2011, Global Voices and the WORLD Channel present four international documentaries throughout the month of July that focus on the different, difficult actions people and organizations have taken in the fight for independence. The month begins with Storm of Emotions, chronicling the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the efforts to achieve democracy amidst great social and political turmoil. July continues with the two-part documentary Cuba, An African Odyssey, showcasing the previously untold story of Cuba’s support for African revolutions. The Mosquito Problem & Other Stories follows and focuses on one village as it is continuously transformed by ideologies, regimes, and dreams of economic prosperity. The month concludes with The Siege, a documentary about a historic event in 1996 when the Peruvian Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement seized the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima and held dozens of foreign diplomats hostage for 126 days. All four documentaries will be broadcast on Sunday nights at 10 PM on the WORLD Channel. A comprehensive overview of the 2011 series and a calendar of online events may be found on the WORLD Channel’s website: WORLDcompass.org.
Sunday, July 3 – Storm of Emotions
When Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai desert in 1982 following a peace agreement with Egypt, many people chose Gush Katif, a bloc of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, as their new home. But when the Israeli government ordered the evacuation of Gaza in August 2005 as part of its disengagement plan, the decision resulted in massive political and social turmoil. Storm of Emotions documents the historic moment of this evacuation, one of the most complex and provocative missions ever undertaken by Israel’s police forces.
Sunday, July 10 and July 17 – Cuba, An African Odyssey (Part I and II)
From Che Guevara's military campaign to avenge Lumumba in the Congo to the fall of apartheid in South Africa, 300,000 Cubans have fought alongside African revolutionaries. Cuba, An African Odyssey is the previously untold story of Cuba's support for African revolutions, one of the Cold War's most vigorous contests over resources and ideology.
Sunday, July 24 – The Mosquito Problem & Other Stories
The Mosquito Problem & Other Stories is the tale of a of a village turned concentration camp, turned city, turned nuclear power plant. In a world instantly transformed by ideologies, regimes, and dreams of economic prosperity, characters' lives intersect in a sinister past and nuclear future.
Sunday, July 31 – The Siege
The Siege is a powerful documentary about the infamous 1996 siege in Lima. The Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), lead by Nestor Cerpa, storms a party at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence, taking hundreds of hostages and demanding the release of MRTA members from prison, including Cerpa’s wife. President Alberto Fujimori’s response is uncompromising and fatal. With unprecedented access to archival footage, police recordings, and key interviews, the film documents four extraordinary months as the siege builds to an astonishing conclusion.
ABOUT GLOBAL VOICES
Produced by ITVS International, Global Voices is a 26-week series bringing internationally themed documentaries made by U.S.-based and international filmmakers to a national audience. This season, the series will feature the U.S. premieres of four documentaries funded by ITVS International, as well as encore broadcasts of other acclaimed ITVS programs. In addition to the WORLD broadcast, select episodes will be available online post-broadcast — via iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, and on PBS Video at video.pbs.org. For the complete lineup and schedule, visit www.itvs.org/series/global-voices.
ABOUT WORLD
The WORLD public media service includes the WORLD Channel, a 24/7 public television channel dedicated to delivering the best of public television’s nonfiction, news, and documentary programming, and a growing schedule of content from independent producers. The WORLD Channel’s website, WORLDcompass.org, expands on broadcast themes and fuels content across social media, providing opportunities for broad and diverse audience interaction. WORLD is produced and distributed by WGBH Boston, WNET New York Public Media, and American Public Television (APT) in association with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA). The WORLD Channel is available in markets representing more than 44 percent of U.S. TV households. Funding for WORLD is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
CONTACT Krissy Bailey, ITVS 415-356-8383, ext. 254 krissy_bailey@itvs.org
For more information about the series, visit www.itvs.org/series/global-voices