Dr. Helen Caldicott in Edmonton

Two Upcoming Events featuring the Acclaimed Anti-Nuclear Activist & Nobel Peace Prize Nominee!

Helen Caldicott - Live!

October 8 - 7:00 pm
Myer Horowitz Theatre, Student's Union Building, U of A
Free Admission

The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr. Helen Caldicott has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction.

Dr Caldicott has received many prizes and awards for her work, most recently the Lannan Foundation's 2003 Prize for Cultural Freedom, 19 honorary doctoral degrees, and was personally nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Linus Pauling - himself a Nobel Laureate. The Smithsonian Institute has named Dr Caldicott as one of the most influential women of the 20th Century. She has written for numerous publications and has authored seven books. Dr. Caldicott’s most recent book is "War In Heaven" (2007).

She also has been the subject of several films, including "Eight Minutes to Midnight", nominated for an Academy Award in 1981, "If You Love This Planet", which won the Academy Award for best documentary in 1982, and "Helen’s War: Portrait of a Dissident"*, recipient of the Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Direction (Documentary) 2004, and the Sydney Film Festival Dendy Award for Best Documentary in 2004.

Dr Caldicott currently divides her time between Australia and the US where she lectures widely. She is also the Founder and President of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NPRI), headquartered in Washington DC. NPRI’s mission is to facilitate a far-reaching, effective, ongoing public education campaign in the mainstream media about the often-underestimated dangers of nuclear weapons and power programs and policies.


 

FILM: "Helen’s War: A Portrait of a Dissident"

 

September 24 - 6:30pm
Stanley A. Milner Library
Free Admission

Film will be introduced with a brief overview of the context of
nuclear energy in Alberta, and a short discussion to follow.

Flim Synopsis

Helen’s War: A Portrait of a Dissident
Directed by: Anna Broinowski
(Australia, 2004, 52 min.)

Dr Helen Caldicott, firebrand anti-nuclear campaigner, celebrated author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is too alarmed to retire.

Certain that the White House's War on Terror is escalating the global nuclear arms race, she embarks on an explosive crusade across post 9/11 USA, armed with her fifth book, "The New Nuclear Danger", and a furious determination to rally the American people against Star Wars and the new nuclear weapons labs before it is too late.

Tagging along is Caldicott's jaded niece, filmmaker Anna Broinowski, a post-punk fatalist who believes that nukes are inevitable and wonders whether a straight talking dissident like Helen really can make a difference in George W. Bush's 'Land of The Free'.

Set against the volatile backdrop of the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, Helen's War tracks Caldicott's roller-coaster tour as she vies with spin-savvy neo-conservatives for airtime, courts celebrity backers for her DC think-tank and battles to stop the bombing of Baghdad. We discover the vulnerable, humorous,passionate woman behind the crusade and what it really costs to fight for Peace.

"They can lock me up in Guantanamo Bay if they want to, I don't care. It will be great publicity for the book."
— Dr. Helen Caldicott.

Awards: Best Documentary (Dendy Award) 2004 Sydney Film Festival; Best Direction (Documentary) 2004 AFI Awards.

"The winning documentary is an exceptional film."
— Bob Connolly, Judge, Sydney Film Festival Dendy Awards.
"[4 STARS]"
— Paul le Petit, Sunday Telegraph.
"Electrifying... A terrific account of one woman's attempt to use the name of science against the destructive uses of science."
— The Australian
"This is a finely crafted documentary, and, even if we cannot follow Caldicott's extremism at times, we can but stand in awe of her resolve."
— Sunday Telegraph
"Engrossing!"
— Alexa Moses, Metro Magazine
"A fabulous documentary that works simultaneously as psychobiography (Caldicott grew up in an atmosphere of intellectual rigour and rage) and socio-political snapshot... Making this documentary was clearly difficult for both subject and filmmaker, but the results are stunning."
— Greg Hassall, Sydney Morning Herald
"A fractious affair in which subjectivity and objectivity collide. The resulting fusion might just be what is needed as an antidote to the neo-con mindset that has America in its squirrel grip."
— Doug Anderson, Sydney Morning Herald.

These events organized by Sierra Club Prairie Chapter & Council of Canadians Prairie Region, with co-sponsorship by the Environmental Research & Studies Centre (University of Alberta), Mountain Equipment Co-op, Project Ploughshares, the Alberta Public Interest Research Group (APIRG) & the Edmonton Small Press Association.

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For more info or media interviews:

Sierra Club Prairie
780-439-1160
[email protected]

Council of Canadians Prairie
780-233-2528
[email protected]

Edmonton Small Press Association
780-434-9236
[email protected]