American University Partnership Launches with No Fire Zone Screening, Talk by Callum Macrae

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Callum Macrae is on hand Wednesday, February 4, 2015, at American University for the screening of No Fire Zone, which tells the story of the final 138 days of the 26-year Sri Lanka civil war and sheds light on the government's brutal military offensive that saw between 40,000 and 70,000 civilians die. The screening and panel discussion are part of the launch of the Pulitzer Center's Campus Consortium partnership with American University.

American University professors join Macrae on the panel moderated by Bill Gentile, journalist in resident, School of Communication:

- Carolyn Gallaher, associate professor, School of International Service, American University.

- Juan Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and professor of human rights law in residence, Washington College of Law, American University.

The evening presented by the Pulitzer Center and the School of Communication (SOC) at American University is also part of the Movies that Matter SOC signature series on major issues of our time.

Reserve your seat today: http://no-fire-zone-washington-dc.eventbrite.com

Through powerful personal stories, eyewitness testimony and video evidence, No Fire Zone shows how thousands of civilians were told to gather in what the government promised would be a no fire zone and were then systematically shelled and deliberately denied adequate food and medicines. No Fire Zone incorporates direct evidence of war crimes, summary execution, torture and sexual violence via footage recorded from within the zone.

The footage documents the day-to-day horror of this war in a way almost never done before: footage recorded by both the victims and perpetrators on mobile phones and small cameras–powerful actuality from the battlefield, from inside the crudely dug civilian bunkers and over-crowded makeshift hospitals.

Besides the documentary's subject matter, Callum discusses during the session his post-production efforts to raise awareness of these human rights issues.

No Fire Zone is one of five films to win the 2014 BRITDOC Impact Award, which celebrates standout documentary films that are changing the world. The documentary also was nominated for an International Emmy Award.

Macrae is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker who has been making films for 20 years in the UK and around the world, including Iraq, Japan (in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake), Haiti and several in Africa – covering wars and conflicts in Cote D'Ivoire, Uganda and Mali.

Watch the trailer for No Fire Zone.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015
6:30-7:00 pm - Light refreshments
7:00-9:30 pm - Screening and panel discussion
Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman Theater
McKinley Building
American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20016

RSVP requested: http://no-fire-zone-washington-dc.eventbrite.com