An Evening with Award Winning Photojournalist Zoriah
Thursday, August 26
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$10-20 suggested donation

Join ArgusFest at a special event with the award-winning humanitarian photojournalist Zoriah.  His work includes powerful images of the worlds largest disasters and conflicts including war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine, famine in Africa, and the 2004 tsunami in India. He has remained independent so that he has the freedom to cover stories that are sometimes overlooked by the advertising-driven media.

In 2008 a television crew from the show “In Harms Way” followed Zoriah to the Gaza strip where he shot images of the Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. It was one of the only times I had ever seen American television present the Palestinians and their struggle in a fair light.

Also in 2008, Zoriah was embedded with the Marines in Iraq where he took photos of some dead American soldiers after a suicide attack. The U.S. military stripped him of his embed and he was forced to leave Iraq. Zoriah felt that it was important for us back home to see the reality of war. At the time he had taken more images of dead American soldiers than any other U.S. journalist and he may still hold that record. You can read about this incident in the NY Times Article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/world/middleeast/26censor.html

More recently Zoriah has worked covering the Haiti earthquake as well as the BP oil spill. He will be sharing some of his latest work and answering your questions. Don’t miss this opportunity to see one of the most dedicated and artistic photojournalists working today.

Because Zoriah is independent he needs our help to keep working so if you can make a donation towards his work he would greatly appreciate it. In the age of PR and perception management we need people like Zoriah to give us truth now more than ever.

Zoriah’s websites are:

http://www.zoriah.com
http://www.zoriah.net

Local fishermen, now working on a BP cleanup crew, inspect a
beach area after a new batch of oil washed ashore.

World Renowned Jazz Saxophonist and
Ex-Israeli Anti-Zionist Gilad Atzmon
Talk and Performance
Thursday, July 1
Talk: 7:00 PM
Jazz: 9:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$10-20 suggested donation

Defamation
Thursday, February 18
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

What is anti-Semitism today, two generations after the Holocaust? In his continuing exploration of modern Israeli life, director Yoav Shamir (Checkpoint, 5 Days, Flipping Out) travels the world in search of the most modern manifestations of the “oldest hatred”, and comes up with some startling answers.

In this irreverent quest, he follows American Jewish leaders to the capitals of Europe, as they warn government officials of the growing threat of anti-Semitism, and he tacks on to a class of Israeli high school students on a pilgrimage to Auschwitz.

On his way, Shamir meets controversial historian, Norman Finkelstein, who offers his unpopular views on the manner that anti-Semitism is being used by the Jewish community and especially Israel for political gain. He also joins scholars, Stephen M. Walt and John J. Mearsheimer, while they give a lecture in Israel following the release of their book “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy”, about the un-proportional influence the Israel lobby in Washington enjoys. Yoav visits Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, the must stop for all world leaders on their visits to Israel. While in Jerusalem, he drops by the house of his grandmother that offers her insight on the issue and declares that she is the “real Jew”.

The film questions our perceptions and terminology when an event proclaimed by some as anti-Semitic is described by others as legitimate criticism of Israel’s government policies. The film walks along the boundary between anti-Zionism, rejecting the notion of a Jewish State, and anti-Semitism, rejecting Jews. Is the former being used to excuse the latter? And is there a difference between today’s anti-Semitism and plain old racism that is affecting all minorities?

Opinions often differ and tempers sometimes flare, but in Defamation we find that one thing is certain  - only by understanding their response to anti-Semitism can we really appreciate how Jews today, and especially modern Israelis, respond to the world around them, in New York and in Moscow, in Gaza and Tel Aviv.

American Radical:
The Trials of Norman Finkelstein
Monday, January 11
7:00 PM
Hooked on Colfax
3215 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein is the probing documentary portrait of American academic and activist Norman Finkelstein. A devoted son of holocaust survivors, ardent critic of Israeli and US Mid-East policies and author of six provocative books, Finkelstein has been at the center of many intractable controversies.

Called a lunatic and a self-hating Jew by some and an inspirational, street-fighting revolutionary by others, Finkelstein is a deeply polarizing figure whose struggles arise from core questions about freedom, identity and nationhood. Following him as he presents his message to audiences around the globe, the film provides an intimate portrait of the man behind the controversy, giving voice to Finkelstein’s critics as well as his supporters.

The Killing Zone
Monday, November 23
7:00 PM
Hooked on Colfax
3215 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

The Killing Zone was originally broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 on 5/19/06 and shockingly revealed the daily violence and murder by the Israeli occupiers in the Gaza Strip.

Most revealing were the attacks against internationals like Rachel Corrie - an American peace activist who was crushed to death by an IDF bulldozer; Tom Hurndall - a British peace protester who was shot in the head by an IDF sniper and remained in a coma until his death on  January 13, 2004, and James Miller - a British cameraman who was shot dead by the IDF while displaying a white flag. If these internationals were so ruthlessly murdered, what is it like for the Palestinians who live there?

This film is a must see for anyone wishing to understand the true nature of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

The Fourth World War
Thursday, June 25
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

Shot on the frontlines of struggles spanning five continents, The Fourth World War is the untold human story of men and women who resist being annihilated in the current global conflict. While our airwaves are crowded with the talk of a new world war, narrated by generals and filmed from the noses of bombs, the human face of war is rarely seen. The Fourth World War weaves together the images and voices of the war on the ground—from the front lines of struggles in Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, Palestine, Korea, “the North” from Seattle to Geneva, and the “War On Terror” in New York and Iraq. Narrated by Michael Franti and Suheir Hammad. Seventy-five glorious minutes, with music from the likes of Manu Chao, Asian Dub Foundation, Ozomatli, and DJ Moosaka.

“A powerful, radical cry from the frontlines of the war on people. This film captures the spirit of resistance: it is as beautiful and global as humanity itself.” —Naomi Klein

Gilad Atzmon:
The Primacy of the Ear
The Road from Music Ethics
Thursday, June 4
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
Sliding scale donation
pay what you can
(no one turned away)

Talk on Palestine with
Abel Francisco & the Community
Thursday, March 12
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

Local activist Abel Francisco recently returned from the West Bank, Palestine where he documented human rights abuses and the daily life of Palestinians. Tonight he will be giving a talk on his experiences and taking questions. Afterwards we will open it up for a community discussion on Palestine with a focus on how we here in Colorado can help support the rights and dignity of the Palestinians. Please come with your compassion, hope, and some proactive ideas.

The Israeli Massacre in Gaza
Thursday, February 26
7:00 PM
Mercury Cafe
2199 California St, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

On January 13, 2009 an emergency town hall meeting was held in New York City in response to Israel’s siege on Gaza. Tonight ArgusFest will be showing clips from this informative urgent event.

Speakers include:
Chris Hedges - Pulitzer prize winning journalist, former New York Times Mideast Bureau Chief, author of many books including Collateral Damage: America’s War Against Iraqi Civilians
Cynthia McKinney- 2008 presidential candidate, who was on a Free Gaza Movement boat bearing aid for Gaza that was fired upon by the Israeli Navy on December 29, 2008
Alan Goodman - writer for Revolution newspaper, whose most recent article is “Invoking the Holocaust to Silence Criticism of Israel’s Crimes? NEVER AGAIN!”
Adam Shapiro- human rights activist and documentary filmmaker, and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement
Peter Weiss- Vice President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Najla Said- playwright and actor, performing an excerpt from her play PALESTINE about a visit to Gaza in early 1980s with her father Edward Said and family

Jeremy Hardy vs. The Israeli Army
Wednesday, February 25
7:00 PM
Hooked on Colfax
3215 E. Colfax Ave, Denver
$5 suggested donation or 1 hour volunteer

This dark comedic documentary narrated by Hardy is a story of an unlikely person put in extraordinary circumstances. Hardy teamed up with producer/director Leila Sansour and other members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in an effort to try his hand at ending occupation of the West Bank. Hardy could only describe the next four days of filming as “four days in hell.”

The footage  captured covers everything from the standoff at Yasser Arafat’s compound to the siege at the Church of the Nativity. It gives an inside look into the operations and birth of the ISM and the stories that were never reported in last year’s news bulletins.