the early NEWSREEL films of the late '60's
NEWSREEL (aka: Camera News Inc.) in the late 1960's. this body of work is available, both on 3/4 inch and VHS formats. the work prints are now the original. of course NEWSREEL always just printed from the freshly edited workprint. certainly could get the work out more quickly. interest or questions? you can get in touch with Roz at the e-mail address below
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The l960's are remembered as the age of activism - a period of tumultuous upheaval in our country. During those years a small band of film makers created a body of independent work that helped define and explain the times.They were not journalists in the conventional mechanistic sense - but advocates and activists who used the medium of film to bring the voices and the issues of their times to public attention. They saw film as a weapon to put a the service of movements and struggles although many of their productions were high quality and artistic.
e-mail : roznews@aol.com
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They called themselves NEWSREEL |
California Newsreel | Third Word Newsreel
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* Note: All descriptions of the NR films ( made or distributed ) by newsreel were taken from old catalogs or reviews etc. AmerikaAgainst the background of the November 1969 Anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Washington DC., footage from all over the world.
Army
Off the Pig (Black Panther)This is one of the first films made about the Panthers. It contains interviews with Party leaders Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver describing why the Party was formed and what its goals are. It also includes footage of Panther recruitment, training and the Party's original 10 Point Program laid out by Chairman Bobby Seale.
El Caso Contra Lincoln CenterLa Renovacion Urban destruyo los hogares de 35,000 familias puertoriquenasde la ciudad de Nueva York para construir Lincoln Center, una vitrina cultural para las clase dominante de la ciudad. La pelicula explica la coneccion entre esta accion cotidiana y es imperlialismo corporativo norteamericano. 12 minutes
Columbia RevoltIn May l968, the students of Columbia University went on strike after the administrators repeatedly ignored their demand for open discussion of the university's involvement in racist policies, exploitation of the surrounding community of Harlem. This is the story of our first major student revolt, told from inside the liberated buildings.
The Earth Belongs to the PeopleAn analysis of the ecology crisis, this film dispels the myths that big business and big government have been telling the people about the world-wide ecological crisis. Is there really over-population in the world, or is there an unequal distribution of wealth and food? Do people or large industries ruin the environment? Will the earth survive for the people or for corporate profit ????
GarbageBringing the revolution to the Ruling Class, the Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers export garbage from their Lower East Side ghetto to the halls of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts-all the while, New York was in its longest bitterest sanitation workers strike.
High School RisingHigh school corridors patrolled by narcotics agents and police, distortion of the history of black, brown, and poor white people, provoked student attacks on the tracking system. Stills, live footage and rock music. (Note: This film is not technically excellent, but it is very useful in understanding the problems occurring in most high schools across the nation today,)
Los Siete de la RazaThis film is about the oppression of the Third World community in the Mission district of San Francisco. It deals specifically with seven Latino youths who were recruiting street kids into a college Brown Studies Program. They are accused of killing a plainclothesman. While they become victims of a press and police campaign to "clean-up" the Mission, their defense becomes the foundation of a revolutionary community organization called Los Siete
Make OutThe oppressive experience of making-out in a car...from the woman's point of view. Short and sweet. It can be shown a second time with the sound off and the male can make up his own sound track.
Up Against the Wall Miss AmericaA now historical film about the disruption of the Miss America pageant of l968. With raps, guerrilla theater, and original songs . Women stress the (mis)use of their sisters, by the pageant, as mindless sexual objects. Footage includes Attorney /activist Flo Kennedy.
Richmond Oil StrikeIn January, l969 oil workers in NorthernCalifornia struck. The local police and the Standard Oil goon squads attacked the strikers and their families, killing one and injuring others. The striking students from San Francisco State were asked to join the struggle. For the first time workers and students fight together against their common enemy.
People's ParkIn the spring of l969 , the Berkeley street community initiated a project to transform a barren and unused university-owned Lot into a park for the whole community to enjoy-a People's Park. Because the park threatened the control of the university and presented a challenge to the concept of private property, the police and National Guard were used to brutalize the people and destroy the People's Park. 25 minutes
Por Primeria Vez (For the First Time)The Cuban Film Institute sends mobile film units into the rural provinces-young and old delight on seeing movies "for the first time." Modern Times with Charlie Chaplin is shown in a rural village. An enchanting short that leaves you happy and smiling.
 more FRAMES from the
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Peoples'WarIn the summer of l969, Newsreel went to North Vietnam. From that trip came PEOPLES' WAR. This film moves beyond the perception of the North Vietnamese as victims to a portrait of how the North Vietnamese society is organized. It shows the relationship of the people to their government-how local tasks of a village are coordinated and its needs met. It deals with the reality of a nation that has been at war for twenty-five years, that is not only resisting US aggression and keeping alive under bombing, but that is also struggling to raise its standard of living and to overcome the underdevelopment of centuries of colonial rule. Amid much publicity, the footage was confiscated upon its return to the US. Despite this attempt at suppression, PEOPLE'S WAR has become one of the most sought-after films on Vietnam. Blue ribbon at U.S.A. film festival in Houston, Texas. and the Golden Bear Award, Moscow, USSR
R.O.T.C.The issue of ROTC is uppermost on many college campuses and is a major focus of anti war activity. In an interview with the head of Harvard ROTC, the University's ties to the military industrial complex and how ROTC serves this relationship is exposed.
Seventy-Nine Springs of Ho Chi MinhThis film on the life and death of Ho Chi Minh is a skillfully interwoven blend of old still photographs and newsreel footage of the DRV's (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) founder, a man whose life spans three revolutions, three continents and three wars. It portrays his life: from militant student to revolutionary lead of this country; and his life-long work dedication to the Vietnamese people and their struggle for liberation. This eulogy was made by Cuba's renowned filmmaker, Santiago Alvarez. Musical soundtrack, Spanish titles. (Note: Understanding of the Spanish titles is not necessary for full enjoyment of the film.) " . . . one of the most moving political films this reviewer has seen
. . ."
She's Beautiful When She's AngryIn a skit presented at an abortion rally in New York City, a beauty contestant is pressured to fulfill certain roles in order to be the "ideal woman", a "winner". The skit shows how women, especially minority women, are used in this society for profit. The women who perform also discuss their personal lives and how their struggle as women is expressed in the skit. ( Note: Soundtrack is sometimes difficult to understand. )
 more FRAMES from the
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Strike CityPlantation workers in Mississippi having gone on strike against the extreme exploitation of the plantation system, and decide to form their own collective Their determination to stick together, rather than go back to the plantation or be forced out of the state, is their main resource. After a bitter winter, living in tents, they obtain partial support from private sources and begin building permanent housing. The poverty program backs down on its promise of support in response to Mississippi senators who fear the implications of collectives of back farmers in Mississippi.
Summer '68Draft resistance organizing in Boston, a Boston organizer's trip to North Vietnam -- a GI. coffeehouse in Texas, Newsreel's take over of Channel 13 in New York -- following the production of the Rat's special issue on Chicago -- and Chicago during the Democratic Convention, the planning and carriage out of five days of protest. Each section focuses on an organizer central to each project--the attempt is to define the nature of commitment to "the Movement" against a backdrop of 1968's summer activities.
BDRG: Boston Draft Resistance Groupactually the first film that was made and distributed by NEWSREEL. detailed draft resistance organizing in Boston
TroublemakersIn 1965, a group of white organizers went into Newark's central ward to work with the black community, forming the Newark Community Union Project (NCUP). Traditional forms of protest--letters to city officials, demonstrations, electoral politics--were used as tactics for organizing. The film focuses on the action undertaken around three issues. The first is an attempt to get housing code enforcement; the second, to get a traffic light installed at a hazardous intersection. After many months of hallow promises, and inaction on the part of the city government an attempt was made to elect a third party candidate to the City Council. Lacking the resources of the two major parties, this was doomed to failure too The film is an absorbing, informative documentary of the frustrating failures of NCUP and the problem of getting even modest reform within the present political structure. But it goes beyond this--it shows clearly the contradictions in the concept of white groups organizing in black and other third world communities. A good study in some of the early New Left tactics--how and why they failed.
The Woman's FilmThe film was made entirely by women in San Francisco NEWSREEL. It was a collective effort between the women behind the camera and those in front of it. The script itself was written from preliminary interviews with the women in the film. Their participation, their criticism, and approval were sought at various stages of production.
YippieYippie is filmed farce, juxtaposing the brutal police riot at the 1968 Democratic Convention with the orgy scenes from D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance." A clear and energetic no-verbal statement of Yippie politics Hip jive.
Young Puppeteers of South Vietnam"A gift from the youth of South Vietnam to the youth of America." Teenagers in the NLF liberated areas of South Vietnam make beautiful, intricate puppets from scraps of US. war materials. Armed with these puppets, they travel through the liberated zones performing for the local children while our planes "search and destroy". A poignant film that gives a view of the war even more powerful than images of atrocities.
Mayday (Black Panther)On May l, 1969 the Black Panther Party held a massive rally in San Francisco. Speakers Kathleen Cleaver, Bobby Seale, and Charles Garry present the rally's demands for the release of Huey Newton and all political prisoners. The film includes footage of the police raid on Panther headquarters in San Francisco a few days prior to the rally and the Panther's Breakfast for Children Program.
Only the BeginningFor years the sentiment against the war in Vietnam has been growing. The latest polls show that 73% of the US. population want the troops out of Vietnam now G.I.'s are among the most active protesters against the war. In April, l971, thousands of G.I.'s-Marines and regular army, veterans and active duty personnel came to Washington, DC., to denounce their participation in that "dirty war," and to demand it be ended immediately. The film begins with the demonstration in Washington. In front of the Capitol, we see the veterans come before the crowd and throw their medals away. The film moves to Vietnam where the devastating effects of US. bombs are documented. ONLY THE BEGINNING is about the GI. movement to end the war.
Two Heroic Sisters of the GrasslandA cartoon version of a true story about two young sisters who risked their lives to save their commune's sheep heard during a sudden snowstorm. The film gives us a sense both of the values stressed in the new society, and the people's participation at every level in the transformation of China.
El Pueblo Se Levanta (THE YOUNG LORDS FILM)
The Case Against Lincoln CenterUrban renewal removes 35,000 Puerto Rican families from New Your City's upper West Side to build Lincoln Center, a cultural show-case for the city's middle and ruling class. The film discusses the links between the problems of the city, and the forces of American corporate imperialism.
No GameOctober 21, 1967; The pentagon; 100,000 anti-war demonstrators who had not come prepared for a violent confrontation with the military police and Pentagon guards; for the tear gas, and rifle butts.
Pig PowerAs student take to the streets in New York and Berkeley, the forces of order illustrate Mayor Daley's thesis that the police are there "to preserve disorder", and we must organize to challenge their control and preserve our lives as well as our life styles. A short impressionistic montage of music and images pointing up the disparity between their force and ours. The function of police repressing Black and white demonstrators alike is emphasized.
Community ControlThe struggle for Community Control in Black and Puerto Rican communities in New York City. An examination of colonialism as it manifests itself in many American cities. In two so called experimental districts, police are constantly called in to enforce the political decisions of the state and city bureaucracy, and the striking teachers; union. All ofthis taking place against the legitimate demands of the community (Ocean Hill-Brownsville, and East Harlem). Filmed inside some of the schools involved in the conflict; contains interviews with Herman Ferguson, Minister of Education for the Republic of New Africa, and Les Campbell, director of The Afro-American Teachers Association.
VenceremosA film shot in Cuba in l970-71 about two brigades of 500 Americans that went to Cuba illegally in order to show support by breaking the blockade and to help with the sugar harvest of ten million tons. They cut cane with brigades that were sent from Vietnam, North Korea, and Latin America. This is the story of their boat ride from St. Johns, Canada and their stay in Cuba.
High SchoolA film about high school students and how school becomes a prison.
You Don't Have to Buy the War
Open for ChildrenOne of the first films ever made about the need for childcare. Make It RealThis is what Newsreel considered an energy film. It contains great shots of street actions and hot music. These short films were made to show between our longer films that were "more serious" They were made to give youth a feeling that they could get up and become "street fighting men".
McDonnel-DouglasA film about the McDonnel-Douglas company and it's relationship to the war-machine.
Free FarmA film made by Newsreel folks that went to live in Vermont. A story about a community free farm on land loaned by a small college. It tell the story of coming together to farm the land and to have Sunday community gatherings. The college calls the cops to kick people off the land in the fall before the harvest and local young men trash the farm. An interesting note is that posters are put up warning that a local cop named Paul Lawrence was setting up and beating up people. Ten years later he was busted for planting drugs and was known as the bad cop that went to jail. A true story of hippies with politics.
Inciting to RiotA quick montage flirtation with the idea of rural guerrilla struggle in the US returning repeatedly to the reality of pig power in the cities and space technology. A flashing image of a state of mind common among hip and political youth.
Don't Bank on America
Mighty Mouse and Little EvaThis is a 1930's racist cartoon, taking off on Uncles Tom Cabin. Distributed by Newsreel.
Ice
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