Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Nominees:

An Inconvenient Truth (US 06)  - The global warming story and what we should be doing as citizens to reduce the dangers.  An educational approach by former Vice-President Al Gore who is both serious and charmingly authentic.  Not a great film but a good use of the medium to convey the message

Fateless – (Hungary, Germany, UK 05) – one of the smaller more human stories of the gas chambers brilliantly told

Hotel Rwanda – (UK, South Africa, Italy 04)  What went on in Rwanda during the genocide of the 90’s from the eyes of a hotel manager.  Acts of simple humanity in the midst of barbarity.

Private – (Italy 04)  The occupation of a Palestine house by a platoon of Israeli soldiers and the response of the various members of the family to this is a metaphor for the much larger story in the occupied zones.

The Road to Guantanamo (UK 06)  The tale of the Tipton three – mistakenly captured in Afghanistan as terrorists and held in Guantanamo for over two years.  A straight talking film about the fact that ethics go out the window  in war

Va, Vis et Deviens (Live and Become) (France/Belgium/Israel/Italy 05)  A grand story of the search for identity and a place in the world.  An Ethiopian boy is separated from his mother passed off as a Jew and starts a new and often troubled life as a refugee in Israel.

The Wind that shakes the barley (UK 06)  What the British got up to in Ireland in the early part of the 20^th century and then how the Irish themselves became divided.  Politics and religion as separating forces even within families.

Winner: The Road to Guantanamo

It may be less subtle than some of the others in the category but the recreation of events and the powerfulness of this simple story make it very memorable and raise many questions on how we deal with the enemy and the unknown and the political agendas which try to fit events into a preconceived scheme.  Like all the films in this list, schools and universities should watch it and debate the issues.