Event Preview: June 12 – 21
Human Rights Watch has an extensive June documentary film festival featuring more than 30 films. This is the 21st year of their festival, and the OPC, through our board member Minky Worden (Media Director of HRW), will co-sponsor two films “Camp Victory, Afghanistan” and “Restrepo” both about the war in Afghanistan.
Camp Victory explores the reality of building a functioning Afghan military. Filmmaker Carol Dysinger shot nearly 300 hours of verite footage between 2005 and 2008 and she achieves a remarkable intimacy in telling the story of U.S. National Guardsmen stationed in Heart, Afghanistan who are assigned to train Afghan officers. Although the United States has poured military aid into Afghanistan, money alone does not produce security – people do. Frustrations are evident as are moments of humor as the film vividly exposes the difficulties faced by these men from two very different worlds, as they attempt to understand and work effectively together in this monumental endeavor.
The dates and times of “Camp Victory, Afghanistan” are:
Saturday, June 12 at 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, June 17 at 4 p.m.
“Restrepo” is the winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary and is the work of photographer/ cinematographer Tim Hetherington and the acclaimed author Sebastian Junger. The film chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. Marines in the Korengal Valley. Hetherington and Junger hunker down in a remote 15 man outpost named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. This is an entirely experiential film – no interviews with generals or diplomats – this is war, full stop.
The dates and times of Restrepo are:
Friday, June 18 at 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 20 at 4 p.m.; Monday, June 21 at 4 p.m.
The Film Festival screenings are at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65 Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam) upper level. You may purchase tickets at the Walter Reade box office or online at the Human Rights Watch website.