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4.26.05

ANNOUNCEMENT: U.S. Premiere of the Film Helen’s War: Portrait of a Dissident

From Ross Mirkirami, Board of Supervisors, District 5

I am honored to invite you to a benefit event for the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NPRI), founded by Dr. Helen Caldicott, one of my personal life-long heroines, on Friday, May 20, 7:30 pm, at the Castro Theatre, in San Francisco.

The event is the U.S. premiere of the film Helen’s War: Portrait of a Dissident. This is an important and provocative film about Dr. Caldicott, the single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, who has devoted the last 36 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age.

After the viewing of the film, Amy Goodman and Dr. Caldicott will take the stage for a public conversation and dialogue about Helen’s work. Amy was inspired to do her work as a young woman after hearing Helen speak. Julia Butterfly-Hill will speak, as well as a special friend and ally of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute.

This is a one-time opportunity to see these three women together, each of a different generation, each fiercely determined to save lives and democracy and ensure the health of the planet.

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About the Film: Set against the explosive backdrop of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, Helen's War asks whether dissidents have a place in post-9/11 America. Playing the reluctant cynic, Anna tracks Dr. Caldicott as she promotes her latest book, The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush's Military-Industrial Complex, attempts to raise one million dollars to launch NPRI, and battles spin-savvy neoconservatives for mainstream airtime. As the bombs begin to rain on Baghdad, Dr. Caldicott and Anna's relationship intensifies, and we discover the woman behind the crusade: an intractable yet vulnerable campaigner, an imperfect yet fearless prophet who monkeys around with her grandchildren and rejuvenates herself in the Australian wilderness in between looking for new ways to steer us away from destruction.

Featuring Dr. Helen Caldicott, Christopher Reeve, Martin Sheen, Ari Fleischer, Senator Edward Kennedy, Andrew Denton, and Midnight Oil.

Awards: Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Direction (Documentary) 2004, and the Sydney Film Festival Dendy Award for Best Documentary in 2004.

About NPRI: The Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NPRI) was established to educate the American public through the mass media about the greatest single threat to our country's — and indeed the world's — public health, namely the profound medical, environmental, political, and moral consequences of perpetuating nuclear weapons, power, and waste. NPRI is led by Dr. Helen Caldicott. NPRI seeks to create a consensus of commitment to end the nuclear age by mounting public education campaigns, establishing a pervasive presence in the mainstream media, and sponsoring high-profile symposia.

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Tickets are $25 for the event ($15.00 student/seniors), and $100 for the film and reception following the film with Dr. Caldicott, Amy Goodman, and Julia Butterfly Hill.

Purchase tickets online.

Or contact Regina Dick-Endrizzi at (415) 865-5497 or reginade@nuclearpolicy.org