On 6 February 2013, George Mason University's Film & Video Studies Program and Film & Media Studies Program will screen the documentary Beneath the Blindfold, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Kathy Berger and Ines Sommer.
The event is scheduled for 4:30pm in the Johnson Center Cinema. It is free and open to the public.
Where are the voices of torture survivors? With Zero Dark Thirty generating debate about the representation of torture and US policy, it is worth noting that the voices of torture survivors are rarely included in any of the public discussions about the use of torture. But without their stories, torture remains abstract, a practice that happens to people we neither know nor care about. They become statistics, their human suffering easily ignored.
Most Americans are unaware that many torture survivors live right in our midst: they are among the refugees and political asylees who have found safe harbor in the U.S. They are struggling to make new lives for themselves, while healing their deep physical and psychological wounds. Estimates place the number of torture survivors living in the U.S. at over 500,000. Torture survivors know first-hand the destructive and long-lasting impact that torture has had on them personally, on their families and communities.
Beneath the Blindfold sets out to counter the "blind spot" in our national conversation about torture by focusing on survivors’ personal stories, insights and struggles. In presenting the words of torture survivors, rather than of politicians, apparatchiks, and wonks, the film can't help but change one's perspective on the policy debate.
Please join us on 6 February at 4:30pm for a screening and discussion of these important issues with filmmakers Ines Sommer and Kathy Berger.
For more information on the event, please contact
Ben Steger, Assistant Professor, FAVS bsteger@gmu.edu | 703-993-5091 or
Cynthia Fuchs, Director, FAMS cfuchs@gmu.edu | 703-993-2768
January 18, 2013