The festival will span 3 weekends — Saturday, September 4, September 11, and September 18 — covering a multitude of themes, from colonial violence in Canada and military base pollution in Washington State, to a coup d’état in Haiti and nonviolent peacekeeping in Bougainville. Each film screening will be followed by an exclusive Q&A with the directors and special guests to explore the topics covered in the films and how to take action. Join us!

What: International Day of Peace: Virtual Film Festival
When: Saturday, September 4, September 11, and September 18 from 3:00pm-5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time
How to join: Register here.

Film Fest Schedule:

• September 4 @ 3:00pm Eastern Time: INVASION & PLANE TRUTHS + Q&A with special guests to be announced. INVASION tells the story of the Unist’ot’en Camp, Gidimt’en checkpoint and the larger Wet’suwet’en Nation standing up to the Canadian government and corporations who continue colonial violence against Indigenous people. PLANE TRUTHS exposes the human, environmental, and economic impacts of the Navy base on Whidbey Island, WA.
• September 11 @ 3:00pm Eastern Time: HAITI BETRAYED + Q&A with director ELAINE BRIERE and special guests. HAITI BETRAYED reveals how Canada colluded with the United States and France to topple the democratically elected government of Haiti. Seven years in the making, Brière’s film meticulously reconstructs Canada’s role in the coup d’état of February 29, 2004, the immediate bloody aftermath and the manipulated elections that followed.
• September 18 @ 3:00pm Eastern Time: SOLDIERS WITHOUT GUNS + Q&A with director WILL WATSON, WBW New Zealand chapter coordinator LIZ REMMERSWAAL, and special guests. SOLDIERS WITHOUT GUNS looks at the fascinating story of how the Bougainville civil war ended due to the NZ led ‘Operation Bel Isi’. After 10 years of war, 14 failed peace agreements and 20,000 people dead, New Zealand stepped in with an unorthodox yet unprecedented style of peacekeeping. The NZ Defence landed in the warzone without weapons, in a determined effort to unite the people in peace. Instead of guns, they took guitars, cultural understanding and women’s empowerment.

RSVP to reserve your spot for the film festival!

Plus, don’t forget to wear your blue peace scarf during the festival. The blue scarf is often worn on the International Day of Peace to symbolize our interconnectedness under one blue sky. Learn more about the blue scarf movement and get your scarf here.

Thank you to our generous sponsors, Bullfrog Films and Womanhood & International Relations Podcast, for making this event possible!

For a world beyond war,

Greta Zarro
Organizing Director
World BEYOND War