Perforated Praeter Naturam
a BulletProof Film and Qualiatica Press production
TRT 84min
©2004
released in stores December 2004
book available from Qualiatica Press
distributed by Facets Video
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Axis of Evil Perforated Praeter Naturam a BulletProof Film and Qualiatica Press production TRT 84min ©2004 released in stores December 2004 book available from Qualiatica Press |
distributed by Facets Video |
 |
In the wake of a stinging CIA report showing that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction comes a new film prompted by the foreign policy failures of the Bush administration. AXIS OF EVIL is a feature-length documentary that deconstructs the rhetoric of the President’s catch phrase and illuminates the ways in which our government manipulates truth, language, and the media to hijack popular culture and opinion. “Evil is a reactionary, emotional frame,” wrote Axis of Evil producer Jim Swanson, in an essay in the book that inspired the film. “We must replace concepts of sin and evil with a nurturing and positive frame that recognizes harmful actions and their causes, and encourages appropriate remediations.” |
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In interviews with 16 journalists, artists, scholars, and activists, including Howard Zinn, Daniel Ellsberg, Bernardine Dohrn, James Weinstein, and others, AXIS OF EVIL explores the concept of evil and how it has been used to justify political and military actions. But unlike most recent Bush-bashing documentaries, the film addresses the broad, complex, and interwoven issues of terrorism, racism, militarism, and other such social ills. It’s a reasoned discussion of evil as it truly exists in our society, rather than a polemic against the war in Iraq.
Interview subjects: James Barnhart teaches Southeast Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. He is a former Fulbright Fellow to France and has taught at various universities in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the United States. He has also traveled extensively in remote regions of Asia. He is currently developing a multi-part documentary with BulletProof Film entitled “The Empire of Water” on the importance of aquatic themes in Southeast Asian cultures.
James J. Brask teaches political science at the Barat College of DePaul University in Chicago. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1969-1971 and has spoken on many occasions about the political and social implications of the Vietnam War. Dr. Brask is the subject of another documentary by BulletProof Film entitled "Teaching Vietnam" about himself and his colleague, Dr. Robert Arnoldt, as they use the classroom to come to terms with their experiences in the Vietnam War. He is the Director of CER-SEA, Center of Education and Reconciliation in Southeast Asia and the pacific rim.
Daniel Ellsberg is a strategic analyst and activist who is most famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers in 1971, an event that helped undermine popular support for the war. He’s the author of "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers." This interview with Dr. Ellsberg was conducted by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller for their documentary "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2004, First Run Features). Fisal M. Hammouda is Muslim community activist and engineering consultant in Chicago. He has delivered addresses explaining Islam to Christian audiences, as well as on the history of the Ottoman Empire. J. B. Ketterson is a professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University. He specializes in experimental condensed-matter physics and is the co-author of two books on superconductors. Dr. Ketterson is also an accomplished guitarist. Peter Kuttner is an activist and filmmaker, and a founding member of Chicago Newsreel (a documentary filmmaking collective working with the Peace, Black Power, and Women's Movements from 1968 to 1971, where he made April 27 with Jon Jost) and has been associated with Kartemquin Films since 1972. Mr. Kuttner has extensive experience in television, narrative film, and documentaries, and is a community organizer with Rising Up Angry in the working class neighborhoods of Chicago. Two of Mr. Kuttner's films are excerpted in AXIS OF EVIL: "Trick Bag" and "The End of the Nightstick." Martha C. Nussbaum is a professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago, where she founded the Center for Comparative Constitutionalism. She is the author of 11 books on topics ranging from ethics in Greek tragedy to the dangers of patriotism. Gerhard Schutte is a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, where he’s the director of the Center for Ethnic Studies. He is the author of "What Racists Believe: Race Relations in South Africa and the United States." Geoffrey R. Stone is a professor of law at the University of Chicago, where he served as a provost from 1993 to 2002. He has served on the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union and has written several books on the Bill of Rights. Dr. Stone's most recent book is "Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime." Jim Swanson is the publisher of Qualiatica Press, and the producer of AXIS OF EVIL. A former board member of the ACLU and the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, he is a draft resister, drug law reform activist, and proud secular humanist. Craig Vetter teaches magazine writing at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He’s been a freelance writer for 25 years, writing for a variety of magazines, including Playboy, Outside, and Sunset. Floyd Webb, creative director of e22.digital.inc, is a digital animator and filmmaker based in Chicago. He was associate producer of the film "Daughters of the Dust" and has worked in film and digital media around the world. He was the founder of the Chicago Blacklight Film Festival, a pioneering showcase of international black cinema. James Weinstein is the founder of the biweekly newsmagazine In These Times. He is the author of five books on American politics, most recently "The Long Detour: The History and Future of the American Left." Howard Zinn is a historian, activist, and author of several books on history and American politics, most famously "A People’s History of the United States." He is currently a columnist for The Progressive. This interview with Dr. Zinn was conducted by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller for their documentary "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2004, First Run Features). Warren Leming (narrator) was co-founder of the musical group Wilderness Road (WildernessRoad.net) and the Cold Chicago Company (ColdChicagoCompany.org) and has written, directed, choreographed, and staged theater and video for over 25 years. He co-founded the original Story Theater Company and the Nelson Algren Committee (NelsonAlgren.org) and has a website, DummyDown.com, devoted to social satire. He is the author of "Cold Chicago, a Haymarket Fable" (Charles Kerr Publishing), and his reviews and critical work have been printed nationally and in Europe. He is currently preparing a two-CD set of his cabaret songs and sketches with Robert Aguilar and Eric Burton of BulletProof Film. He divides his time between Chicago and Berlin.
Michael Hernandez de Luna organized the stamp art, and the companion book was by Al Brandtner Design. The film was created by Qualiatica Press and BulletProof Film. executive producer Jim Swanson produced by Warren Leming Jim Swanson Carmine Cervi Ilko Davidov narrated by Warren Leming directed & edited by Carmine Cervi assistant director/assistant editor Michael W. Phillips Jr. director of animation Eric Burton animation Nigel Scotland Jennifer Gerber Genevieve Wolff opening sequence Eric Hofmeister Eric Burton Al Brandtner camera Andrew Dryer Eric Burton sound design Robert Aguilar sound & music recording Chad Miner additional camera/research Rebecca Zorach transcriptions/research Afia Khan John Lefkowitz Tom Bailey legal David Brezina production, post-production, dvd BulletProof Film, Inc. Chicago stage provided by ACME Art Works and Near NorthWest Arts Council dvd packaging design Al Brandtner Design music director Warren Leming music Warren Leming Maxton Koc Eric Hofmeister participants James Barnhart Jane Bohman Dr. James J. Brask Bernardine Dohrn Daniel Ellsberg Fisal M. Hammouda J.B. Ketterson Peter Kuttner Martha C. Nussbaum Gerhard Schutte Ph.D. Geoffrey R. Stone Jim Swanson Craig Vetter Floyd Webb James Weinstein Howard Zinn Daniel Ellsberg and Howard Zinn interviews courtesy Moving Train, Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller soviet footage courtesy Christopher Swider archival footage courtesy Prelinger Archives photos Deborah Marchant Ronald Haeberle René Lemarchand Trick Bag courtesy Kartemquin Films, Peter Kuttner available from Facets Video The End of the Nightstick courtesy Community TV Network, Denise Zaccardi, Peter Kuttner available from First Run Icarus Films additional source material White House web site CNN.com New York Times Chicago Tribune Chicago Sun-Times NOAA USHMM, courtesy of Simon Adelman "Angel of Evil" excerpted from the essay written and read by Warren Leming narration written by Michael W. Phillips Jr. stamp art navigated and curated by Michael Hernandez de Luna stamp artists Anna Banana Vittore Baroni G´rard Barbot Patrick Beilman Robbie Billings Mark Block Buzz Blurr Al Brandtner Sergej Denisov Mike Dickau Dogfish/Robert Rudine Jas W. Felter HR Fricker David Gilhooly Markus Greiner Harley Deborah Hayner John Held Jr. Michael Hernandez de Luna E.F. Higgins Marvin Johnson/Bufo Kursade Karatas Alexander Kholopov Constantia V Khudiakov Garland Kirkpatrick Ivan Kolenikov Nicholas Krastchin Natalie Lamanova Jon Langford Tim Mancusi Eiichi Matsuhashi Ken McGhee Keiichi Nakamura Clemente Padin Ed Paschke Marlon Vito Picasso Allan Pocius John Rininger Matthew Rose Gogolyak Sandor Joel Smith Steve Smith S. Ortiz Taylor Slava Vinogradov Weef Reid Wood Gerardo Yépiz |
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