AGE: College, Adult, A.P. Time: Approx. 50 Min. Ea. DVDs: 7
DVD: $175.00      DVD Series: $1,225.00         
 
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Highly Recommended: Educational Media Reviews Online

It is important to uncover the sometimes hidden reasons that have motivated people behind revolutions. It is vital to bring light to the non-confessed causes, those that usually stay behind the scenes, from those who pursue the revolution and from those who are against it. By means of clarifying the hidden agendas and revealing the reasoning of both sides, the viewer is provided with information needed to judge history on their own.

Titles include:

Burkina Faso: A Barefoot Revolution (NEW)
A film by Christian Carmosino
October 2014 Burkina Faso’s capital is the center of massive demonstrations against the country’s President, Blaise Compaoré, and his attempt to change the constitution and stay in power. The protest turns into a full revolution, lasting six days and nights and ending with his departure after a dictatorship of 27 years. A transitional government takes over and prepares the 2015 elections. Filming takes place during the protests, as the youth of the country fight for the end of the dictatorship, barefoot and empty-handed. Interviews along with comments by historians and scientists gives us the keys to understand the events. A Barefoot Revolution, along with A Rectified Revolution (see below), paints a complete picture of the political turmoil in Burkina Faso since its founding to present day.

Burkina Faso: A Rectified Revolution
A film by Thuy-Tien HO
In August 1983, Captain Thomas Sankara seizes power in the former French colony of Upper Volta. He is helped by a commando led by his friend Blaise Compaore. Contrary to precedent attempts, Sankara's coup d'etat has revolutionary objectives of Marxist inspiration: end the neocolonial hold of France on the county, favor the equality of opportunity and the education of the masses and launch an economic reform based in the rurality of the country. Dissidences appear, and four years after the beginning of the August Revolution, he is assassinated. While the inhabitants of Burkina-Faso continue to live with the memory of a failed revolution, the documentary reveals the price of the country's stability: no democratic change, no access too the wealth of the country and no real independence from the former colonial power of France. A Rectified Revolution, along with A Barefoot Revolution (see above), paints a complete picture of the political turmoil in Burkina Faso since its founding to present day.

Georgia: The Rose Revolution
A film by Christian ZEENDER and Peter HERCOMBE
October 2003, Georgia: in this post-soviet Republic weakened by civil war and the succession of several territories in the early 1990's, a democratic opposition movement protests the outcome of the election, claiming fraud. Under the leadership of the charismatic Mikhail Saakachvili, also known as "Micha", the establishment is swept away in a mere few weeks. An inside glance at a successful revolution, one that remained non-violent and served as an inspiration for the events leading other former soviet republics, like Ukraine towards democracy. A context, however, that remains fragile, as can be seen in the death on February 3, 2005 of Prime Minister Zourab Zhvania, close collaborator of the new President.

Paraguay: The Revolution Was In The Ballot Box
A film by Philippe CLAUDE and Valeria dos SANTOS
On April 20th, 2008, carried by a tremendous popular support worthy of the greatest South American revolutions, Fernando Lugo, the "suspended" bishop, is elected president of the Republic of Paraguay. After sixty years of absolute power, the Colorado party is compelled to accept the changeover of political power. This documentary will enable us to discover the scarcely known country nestled deep into the heart of the South American continent, its unique social structure, its painful past and its surprising identity. By listening to the newly elected president, to his deposed Colorado opponents, to the specialists of the history of the country and to the people itself, they will help us understand why the Paraguayans, after so many years of dictatorship and unopposed governing, have entrusted their destiny to a free man: a religious figure who threw himself into the political arena to try and rescue his country of crime, injustice and poverty and to restore democracy.

Argentina: The Pots & Pans Revolution
A film by Philippe CLAUDE and Philippe LACHAMBRE
December 2001, Buenos Aires. Five days before Christmas a disturbing silence pervades the city. The day before, frustrated Argentineans looted supermarkets. The government reacted immediately by proclaiming a state of emergency. The situation approaches anarchy for twelve days, in which time five presidents will succeed one another. With never before shown footage, this documentary provides a critical analysis of the events around Christmas 2001. It further includes interviews with militants, victims, cameramen and experts, helping to comprehend the connections between, and ramifications of, the many events that led up to chaos. Who holds the future in the years to come, for this young democracy in danger?

Madagascar: Seven Months of Chaos
A film by Gael MOCAER
December 16, 2001: Madagascar, one of the world's poorest countries falls into chaos. The roots of this crisis are two men fighting to control disputed election results: Didier Ratsiraka, the incumbent president, and his foe, Marc Ravalomanana, the presidential candidate. For seven months, Madagascar is asphyxiated by this turmoil: barricades are set up, tortures take place and the crisis escalates into a true civil war. The political calamity ends in 2002 with the official recognition of Marc Ravalomanana by the United States. Ratsitraka flees the country, leaving behind an unimaginable humanitarian, political and economic catastrophe, whose consequences for the Malagasy people are still immeasurable.

Vietnam: A Contagious Revolution
A film by Thuy-Tien HO
This documentary is a compelling journey in Time. Using powerful, often new archives from sources East and West, the surprising itinerary of the Father of the Vietnamese nation will unfold before our eyes. On site testimonies of Vietnamese veterans will add a more personal perspective to the journey, and highly respected historians will bring their expert views to the equation. All these elements will interlace to shed a new light on the "Vietnamese War" and to form a comprehensive overview of the recent History of Vietnam. Analyzing the process of this long and painful revolution will enable us to better understand the challenges the country is currently facing, as it attempts to find its authentic place in today's global world.
 
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