Taos Mountain Film Festival, October 7-10, 2004

OTHER PROGRAMS

THE AFTERMATH OF WAR

Nagasaki Journey

The Aftermath of War

Bombies

9:30 am - 4:30pm, SATURDAY the 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
Through Mountainfilm's proven formula of film and discussion with experts and public, we will examine the issue of the legacy of modern war. The twentieth century was by a huge margin the bloodiest yet. But what happens when the conflict is settled? Who should be responsible for tidying up the deadly detritus? And who suffers most from what's left behind? Investigative and rare films highlight the threats posed to innocent citizens from the crude ordinance of the First World War to the insidious vapors of modern high-tech weaponry. Panel of Experts will include: Bobby Muller, cofounder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Rob Schultheis, journalist and expert on Central Asia Representative from Los Alamos Laboratory.

NAGASAKI JOURNEY
9:30 am, SATURDAY the 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
"You could smell death all around you." On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped the bomb on Nagasaki ending the war in surrender. Told from the points of view of an injured boy, an American soldier arriving, and a mother looking for her child, a sensitivity and delicacy of the spirit is shown. A powerful splice of American and Japanese film showing the aftermath. USA/Japan 28 mins. 1995

THE INVISIBLE WAR
9:30 am, SATURDAY the 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
For the munitions manufacturer depleted uranium is a godsend. A by-product of nuclear fusion it is one of the heaviest metals on earth and has revolutionary armor-piercing qualities. But for the grunt on the ground picking through the wreckage of battle it's a curse. Was depleted uranium the cause of so much sickness and death amongst alliance troops and Iraqis after the first gulf war? And is there now another plague of this insidious material after the recent invasion of Iraq? USA 66 mins. 2000

THE AFTERMATH OF WAR, THE FILM
12:00 pm, SATURDAY the 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
Donovan Webster's seminal book on this topic has been made into an award-winning film. A comprehensive chronicle of the detritus of modern war the documentary tracks the trail of the plethora of dangerous armaments that remain when the politicians shake hands and the armies go home. A finely crafted film that takes the viewer as far afield as the battlefields of France to the Russian steppes. USA 73 mins. 2001

BIHAC
12:00 pm, SATURDAY the 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
In 2000 US kayaker Scott Shipley trains and competes in peaceful surroundings; his competitor in the Olympics in Serbia, Samir Karabasic, is snatched from the frontlines of a brutal war to represent his recently established country. Seeing the parlous state of his competitors equipment, Shipley loans him a boat and assists his training in a marvelous gesture of camaraderie. USA 48 mins. 1999. In person, Les Guthman.

ESCAPE OVER THE HIMALAYAS
2:15 pm, SATURDAY 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
There wasn't much of a war when the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959 but the effects of the occupation are still being felt. Perhaps the most tragic is the result of the Chinese resistance to educating the Tibetans. Many Tibetans send their children to Nepal to be educated by the Tibetan community in exile. At once heart-rending and inspirational, this piece documents the grueling trip across the mountains and the eventual settling of the 'orphans' in the Tibetan schools. USA 29 mins. 2000. In person: Lama Karma Chodrak.

BOMBIES
2:15 pm, SATURDAY 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
Land mines plague the third world, but so do 'bombies,' the deadly toys scattered from the skies by foreign planes. Between 1964 and 1973 the US military dropped over a million tons of cluster bombs on the tiny country of Laos. Many millions of the these little bombs did not explode and are as lethal now as when they were dropped. The attempts to have these types of bombs banned failed and they were recently used in Afghanistan and Kosovo. USA 57 mins. 2001

THE USE AND ABUSE OF WATER

Uncovering Glen Canyon

6:00 pm, SATURDAY 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
Water, an essential to life, is increasingly becoming a commodity. Corporations are buying Third World water and selling it back to citizens for profit. Our series of films and panel of experts will examine water issues in the Southwest and worldwide.

UNCOVERING GLEN CANYON
1:30 pm, SATURDAY 11th, PLAZA THEATER
A concept that a few years ago was heresy is now gaining credibility at large and support in some areas of officialdom decommissioning Glen Canyon Dam. Edward Abbey and others discuss. USA 25 mins. 2003

NOT A DROP TO DRINK
6:00 pm, SATURDAY 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
Seasoned documentary filmmaker Paul Espinoza brings this fragment of a larger work on border issues. He examines the state of water supplies to the poor of Juarez. USA 16 mins. 1999

CADILLAC DESERT
6:00 pm, SATURDAY 11th, TAOS COMMUNITY AUDITORIUM
The final episode of this brilliant definitive series concludes the study of water in the west and turns its attention to worldwide issues. Marc Reisner's exhaustive book is adapted adroitly to the screen by producer Jon Else. The film will be followed by a panel to discuss water issues. USA 57 mins. 1997. In person: Trudy Healy, Allan Savory, Gretel Ehrlich.