Lancaster Peace Film Festival

January 30 – February 2, 2008

Every evening the of Jan. 30 - Feb. 2 church youth groups in Lancaster will host films that deal with issues of war and peace.The Peace Film Festival is part of an initiative called "Lancaster Supports Iraq Veterans Against the War." This initiative is sponsored by the Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness, the Lancaster Coalition for Peace & Justice, the Lancaster Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, and the participating church youth groups.Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is a very important organization that is perhaps better positioned than anyone to help pressure an end the war in Iraq. IVAW is crossing a critical threshold in building its capacity to organize dissent within the military. Donations will be collected at the event for IVAW, and a short presentation and discussion about the organization will follow each film. Snacks will be provided.

Turtles Can Fly. January 30, 7 pm, Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster (328 West Orange St) Click for flyer.
The lives of the Kurdish people living in Iraq right before the US invasion is seen through the eyes of a group of refugee children, led by a thirteen-year-old boy, Kak Satellite. Satellite organizes the clearing of the minefields and trades the unexploded mines for other goods the children need. The cast of children consists of non-actor locals, adding to the reality of this eye-opening and inspiring film.

Why We Fight. January 31st, 7 pm, Lancaster Friends Meeting (110 Tulane Ter)
The film presents how Dwight D. Eisenhower's warning of an impeding "military industrial complex" is strikingly similar to the state of the world in 2004. Featuring various responses to the question "Why We Fight?" and interviews with those involved the contemporary US military industrial complex, this film seeks to understand how a nation for the people and by the people came to be dependent on a state of constant war.

The Ground Truth. February 1, 7pm, Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster (538 W Chestnut St)
The experiences of young American soldiers are disclosed in this documentary, from their recruitment, training, and service in Iraq, to their difficult return home. The calamity the soldiers face in Iraq is mirrored in their return home to an uncomprehending public and an indifferent government. The film works to reveal the truths of Iraq and military life that are so often muddled by the bias of those not directly involved.

Sir, No Sir. February 2, 7 pm, East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church (434 E Chestnut Street) Click for flyer.
A groundbreaking work, this film details the largely untold stories of the American soldiers who resisted the Vietnam War. From demonstrations at military bases, to over 500,000 desertions, to the refusals of whole units to fight, the GI anti-war movement of the 60's has had lasting effects on the military and war itself. The poem by Bertolt Brecht that became an anthem of the GI Movement perhaps summarizes it best,

"General, man is very useful.
He can fly and he can kill.
But he has one defect: He can think."