Anti-nuclear activists have a new way to spread the
word about the dangers of weapons testing and radioactive waste –
documentary film. In 1998, with borrowed equipment, no budget and
little experience, John Brooner of Susanville, Calif., and Sandi
Rizzo of Reno, Nev., began filming Shundahai Network’s annual
spring gathering at the Nevada Test
Site.
Shundahai Network works with the Western
Shoshone tribe on anti-nuclear and environmental justice issues.
The Western Shoshones claim the test site, which they call “Newe
Sogobia,” as their traditional homeland; they call the area “the
most nuked place on earth.”
Brooner and Rizzo
whittled down 18 tapes of footage to a film titled Alternatives to
Madness. The documentary covers all aspects of the gathering, from
traditional healing ceremonies and civil disobedience to interviews
with activists from international anti-nuclear movements. Notable
is a session with Oregon high school students, all of whom vow to
share their new awareness of nuclear issues with classmates and
community back home.
The filmmakers want to
distribute “thousands and thousands” of the documentary tapes to
school and community groups, hoping that “we get this out to people
who have no clue that this is going on around them. We want to
start the process of … questioning authority, and that is a
healthy thing.”
To obtain a copy of the video,
write to Alternatives to Madness, 2790 Wrondel Way #41, Reno, NV
89502, or e-mail Sandina22@aol.com.
Copyright © 2001 HCN and Crystal Mustric
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline ‘Alternative to Madness’.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
