PLEASE POST From Richard Cohen Films: Specially reduced prices offered to grassroots groups, individuals, and public libraries until the end of February 2000 for 3 powerful award winning documentary films on video: $29 each--includes shipping. Hurry Tomorrow (involuntary psychiatric treatment in a state hospital), Deadly Force (police accountability in slaying of unarmed civilian) and Taylor's Campaign, (criminalization of homelessness). These videos can be screened for the public at no admission charge -- to stir community awareness. Learn more at http://www.richardcohenfilms.com or continue reading. TAYLOR'S CAMPAIGN Directed by Richard Cohen, Produced by Amy Ziering Kofman & Richard Cohen Narrated by Martin Sheen Taylor's Campaign is an intensely gripping and insightful story about the day-to-day lives of hardworking people forced to live in cardboard lean-tos in Santa Monica, California and dumpster dive for food. When local lawmakers threaten their civil rights, in a drive to sweep the streets of the homeless, this spirited community of drifters, military vets and people with disabilities rally behind the leadership of a destitute former truck driver named Ron Taylor. Taylor declares himself a candidate for the Santa Monica City Council and turns his campaign into an uncompromising quest for human dignity and justice. "Taylor's Campaign is a true sociological portrait, chronicling the lives of destitute citizens against the backdrop of contemporary urban policies. My class discussions following the showing of this film have been among the best discussions ever in my classes. The film provides rich material for discussion of the criminalization of homelessness, the inaccuracies of stereotypes of the homeless, their struggle for dignity, and the need for humane urban policy. Few social problems have had so visible a place on the urban landscape in the last decade as homelessness. Taylor's Campaign stands as the best documentary on homelessness in this era. It is an impressive work at the intersection of documentary filmmaking and social research, and an invaluable resource for teaching about poverty. If there is one 'must film' on homelessness for every sociology film library, Taylor's Campaign is it." Leon Anderson, TEACHING SOCIOLOGY, January, 2000 Ohio University "Fascinating.... Because of its examination of the rights of all individuals, this film is highly recommended for all collections." Kellie Flynn, LIBRARY JOURNAL (6/15/99) Cook Memorial Public Library, Libertyville, Illinois Taylor's Campaign (VHS): $125 colleges, academic libraries $39 public libraries* ($29 During February 2000, for grassroots community groups, individuals, public libraries) HURRY TOMORROW (1975) A film by Richard Cohen & Kevin Rafferty. Hurry Tomorrow offers a rare and compelling look at the day-to-day lives of patients treated involuntarily on an acute psychiatric ward in a California state hospital. Filmed over a six week period, the film explores attitudes of staff, patients, family members, doctors and pharmaceutical company salesmen. It shows patients being tied down with straps and cuffs, forcibly medicated with powerful tranquilizers, reducing them to helpless, "zombie like" states. This highly acclaimed, award winning documentary shares the experiences of individuals struggling to maintain their dignity in a dehumanized environment. "Hurry Tomorrow is the most important film to emerge in the last ten years and goes way beyond "Titicut Follies" or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in its indictment of mental hospital conditions. It is beautifully made and at times almost brings one to tears." Alan Rosenthnal, THE DOCUMENTARY CONSCIENCE (U.C.Berkeley Press, 1980) "A crucifying indictment of ward conditions, drug companies and the violations of present laws. The film is an act of courage and a warning about mind control told with compassion and rage." -- Linda Gross, LOS ANGELES TIMES Hurry Tomorrow (VHS): $79 colleges, academic libraries* special $39 public libraries ($29 During February 2000, for grassroots community groups, individuals, public libraries) DEADLY FORCE (1980, 60 min. ) A film by Richard Cohen. The use of deadly force is a recurring and divisive issue in communities across the nation. This powerful and provocative documentary examines police accountability for civilian fatalities by focusing on a case that rocked Los Angeles city hall long before today's crisis. On the morning of August 4, 1977, Sgt. Kurt Barz, a ten year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, stopped his car to investigate Ron Burkholder, a naked unarmed man on a street corner. Within two minutes, Burkholder lay dead shot six times. Deadly Force follows the Burkholder killing through a coroner's inquest and investigation by the district attorney's office. It provides telling insights into the conflicting views of police officials who defend the use of deadly force in dangerous situations and Burkholder's friends and family who charge authorities with engineering a cover-up. "Deadly Force is a gripping and persuasive investigation. Really it is a troubling, thoughtful inquiry into the wider subject of police brutality and whole relationship between society and its custodians of order.... chilling." Tom Shales, THE WASHINGTON POST $79 colleges, academic libraries $39 public libraries, high schools ($29 During February 2000, for grassroots community groups, individuals, public libraries) . Please add $2.39 tax per tape for destinations in California. Make your check or money order payable to: Richard Cohen Films. Indicate which title or titles you are ordering, and mail to: RICHARD COHEN FILMS, POST OFFICE BOX 1012, VENICE, CA 90294-1012 Purchase orders are accepted from public libraries. No credit cards. For more information call: (310)395-3549 e-mail: [log in to unmask] http://www.richardcohenfilms.com ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html