Navtej Sarna
Counsellor (Press & Information)
Washington, DC
(202) 939-7042
Press
Release
December
14, 1999
A
premier screening of the documentary film "A Force More Powerful, a
Century of Nonviolent Conflict" was held on December 9 at a function
organised by the US Institute of Peace, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International in Washington D.C. The
Mayor of Washington D.C., Anthony Williams, and Ambassador of India to US,
Mr. Naresh Chandra joined the Washington-based Filmmaker, Steve York and
the Chairman of the Santa Monica Pictures L.L.C., Peter Ackerman.
The
feature length documentary presents one of the 20th century's
most important and inspiring stories - the victory of nonviolent power
over oppression and authoritarian rule.
It explores three situations in which freedom was achieved through
the philosophy and methods developed by Mahatma Gandhi of India.
The first segment documents Gandhi's fight for India's independence
from British rule and includes powerful episodes from history where
nonviolence overcame injustice, discrimination and authoritanism.
The film then focuses on 1959 Nashville protests led by Rev. James
Lawson who had studied Gandhi's philosophy and method in India.
The final segment of the film concerns Mkhuseli Jack, one of the
most prominent leaders in South Africa whose inspired boycotts hastened
the end of apartheid in that country.
The
film brings to the fore the originality, courage and moral superiority of
the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, the leading personality of the 20th
century. In his own words,
nonviolence became "a priceless and matchless weapon.
Those who wield it are strangers to disappointment and
defeat." The greatness
of these ideas was clearly a powerful force behind the making of the film.
In the words of Producer-Director-Writer Steve York, "when I
was in India, I walked along the dusty road leading to the beach where
Gandhi broke the salt law. It
looks about the same as it did in 1930. The place is nothing special, it's
what Gandhi did there that's remarkable…...".
Several speakers paid tributes to Gandhi identifying him as the Man
of the Century.