WHY DEMOCRACY? (series)
Price: $1,995.00 Code: 2323 |
2007, 11 DVDs (10 documentaries plus bonus DVD of 18 short documentary films)
Purchase: $1,995 - a savings of over 30% off the individual prices.
Documentaries have an unrivaled power to use human stories to make us think about much broader issues. The ten films at the center of Why Democracy? do just that, with filmmakers across the world taking us into the heart of their countries to explore the complex questions of modern democracy.
The films are unconventional documentaries in two senses. First: Democracy - an idea - is their primary focus above any specific country or event. Second: They are not overtly prescriptive. These are not films telling us what "the situation is" in Iraq, or Chile, or South Africa, or Iran. These films hope to illuminate for anyone, in any country, an idea called "Democracy." Democracy as it exists today, not as we wish it to be.
These films were selected on the strength of their engagement with the kind of questions we wanted to ask about democracy. Is any society in the world truly democratic? What does democracy mean if you live below the poverty line? Is capitalism good for democracy? Are dictators ever good? What kind of democracy can we build in the 21st Century? Is democracy good for everyone?
The ten films that make up Why Democracy? confront these issues head on. They illuminate the contradictions, challenges, hopes, and disappointments of democracy in the 21st century, speaking a language that everyone understands. Why Democracy? is a unique effort to grow a global conversation about "the biggest political idea of our time" using documentary film to initiate the debate.
With the exception of Taxi to the Dark Side and Iron Ladies of Liberia, which are available exclusively with the purchase of the entire collection, each film is available for separate purchase.
Running alongside the 10 documentaries and integral to the outreach component of Why Democracy? is a collection of 18 short documentary films made by emerging filmmakers across the planet. Short, innovative and sharp, they take a sideways look at our world. Whether it's the last shaman casting his vote in Siberia, or an internet campaign bringing about justice in Kinshasa - they're bound to get you thinking. All 18 short films are available on one bonus DVD.
Purchase: $1,995 - a savings of over 30% off the individual prices.
Documentaries have an unrivaled power to use human stories to make us think about much broader issues. The ten films at the center of Why Democracy? do just that, with filmmakers across the world taking us into the heart of their countries to explore the complex questions of modern democracy.
The films are unconventional documentaries in two senses. First: Democracy - an idea - is their primary focus above any specific country or event. Second: They are not overtly prescriptive. These are not films telling us what "the situation is" in Iraq, or Chile, or South Africa, or Iran. These films hope to illuminate for anyone, in any country, an idea called "Democracy." Democracy as it exists today, not as we wish it to be.
These films were selected on the strength of their engagement with the kind of questions we wanted to ask about democracy. Is any society in the world truly democratic? What does democracy mean if you live below the poverty line? Is capitalism good for democracy? Are dictators ever good? What kind of democracy can we build in the 21st Century? Is democracy good for everyone?
The ten films that make up Why Democracy? confront these issues head on. They illuminate the contradictions, challenges, hopes, and disappointments of democracy in the 21st century, speaking a language that everyone understands. Why Democracy? is a unique effort to grow a global conversation about "the biggest political idea of our time" using documentary film to initiate the debate.
With the exception of Taxi to the Dark Side and Iron Ladies of Liberia, which are available exclusively with the purchase of the entire collection, each film is available for separate purchase.
Running alongside the 10 documentaries and integral to the outreach component of Why Democracy? is a collection of 18 short documentary films made by emerging filmmakers across the planet. Short, innovative and sharp, they take a sideways look at our world. Whether it's the last shaman casting his vote in Siberia, or an internet campaign bringing about justice in Kinshasa - they're bound to get you thinking. All 18 short films are available on one bonus DVD.
Subjects & Collections
Reviews
“Highly recommended. I encourage you to view these shorts. Some are more subtle and some are very outspoken. Regardless, they do have messages of importance in answering the question presented, ‘What does democracy mean to me?’” - Educational Media Reviews OnlineRelated Films
|
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
The educational version of the 2008 Academy Award® winner for Best Documentary Feature, Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive investigation into the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process.
|
|
IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA
On January 16, 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated President of Liberia, the first elected female head of state in Africa. With unprecedented access, Iron Ladies of Liberia follows her historic first year in office.
|
|
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT
What are the implications for democracy in Pakistan? Before his sudden resignation, President Musharraf agreed to discuss these issues over dinner at his official residence, the Army House. Supplemented by a diverse range of interviews, this documentary provides an important study of today's Pakistan.
|
|
EGYPT: WE ARE WATCHING YOU
From the director of the acclaimed Al-Jazeera documentary Control Room, this extremely prescient and insightful film shows how three women activists used digital cameras and a website to expose widespread fraud and violence in the country's last presidential elections - in which Mubarak won with 88.6% of the vote.
|
|
IN SEARCH OF GANDHI
Over the past two decades India has experienced steady economic growth resulting in the rise of a new middle class. But what does it mean to actually live in the world's largest democracy? In Search of Gandhi seeks to discover the current and future state of democracy in India.
|
|
FOR GOD, TSAR AND THE FATHERLAND
Is the small village of Durakovo - where residents unquestioningly obey a self-appointed leader - a microcosm of Russia today? For God, Tsar and the Fatherland deftly explores what drives the current strain of Russian patriotism, and why many of the country's citizens oppose Western-style democracy.
|
|
LOOKING FOR REVOLUTION
Che Guevara died in Bolivia while trying to ignite the sparks of revolution. Forty years later, the country's first indigenous President, Evo Morales, is promising to continue his work. This documentary takes a closer look at the successes and failures of Morales' 'revolution.'
|
|
BLOODY CARTOONS
Filmed across the Middle East, Bloody Cartoons looks at how and why 12 drawings in a Danish newspaper drew a small country into a confrontation with Muslims all over the world. Featuring interviews with key players, this documentary goes behind the controversy to investigate the roots of the crisis.
|
|
CAMPAIGN
This is democracy - Japanese style. Campaign provides a startling insider's view of Japanese electoral politics in this portrait of a man plucked from obscurity by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to run for a critical seat on a suburban city council.
|
|
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME
An experiment in democracy is taking place in a third grade classroom in China. For the first time, students will be able to elect their own class monitor. A surprising and insightful documentary, Please Vote for Me seeks to determine how - if democracy should come to China - it would be received.
|