four documentaries by sheila franklin
This is the only offically-authorized page on the internet to learn about and order any or all of the videodocumentaries made by award-winning videographer sheila franklin.
Her amazing body of work includes "Fiction of War", "Children At Work", "The Water is Ours, Damn It!", and "the king of pluto".
If you order one of her videodocumentaries from any other page on the internet besides this one, she will not see one dime of the money, and they are all worth seeing!
To order, just send a check or money order to Mike Wrathell, P. O. Box 33, Fraser, Michigan, 48026-0033, USA. $30 per video on dvd will suffice. Please add $5 dollars for shipping.
Ms. Franklin's association with 1world communication is now severed. She is now associated with one world production co. and squealing weasels production co. out of Fraser, Michigan. She can be contacted through Mike Wrathell at the above Fraser address, as well.
Fiction of War
{ focusing on the plight of the internally displaced in Colombia }
Sheila Franklin allows the victims of Colombia’s ongoing civil war to tell their stories in their own words, without the aid of a narrator. The documentary contrasts statements made by public and military officials with those of human rights workers, church and community leaders, and the displaced. The film drives home the point that innocent civilians, especially the poor, are the principal victims of this war.
"I had the opportunity to watch Fiction of War and I highly recommend this video for audiences that want to learn more about the real causes of the war in Colombia. The video presents the voices of the people telling their reality in a beautifully crafted sequence of powerful images."
Cecilia Zarate-Laun, Co-Founder & Program Director - Colombia Support Network
"Fiction of War provides a very rare look into the complexity of Colombia's internal conflict. The documentary allows those who suffer most in Colombia's 50 year old war -- the civilian population -- to tell their personal stories..."
Alison Giffen, Director, U.S.-Colombia Coordinating Office
Children At Work
{ focusing on child labor in India }
At ten, Kumar was kidnapped from his village and spent the next two years working for a rug maker. He has scars on his face from the beatings he received because he was a slow learner. He was rescued during one of many raids performed by the South Asia Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS). After spending three months at a SACCS rehabilitation center he will return to his family. He is just one of 60 million children working full time in India. India has more child laborers than any other country.
"This video represents a substantial contribution to the movement to end child labor and sweatshop abuses. It includes valuable footage exposing the travesty of child labor and bonded labor in India. It should be a useful tool for educators and organizers alike."
Charles Kernaghan, Executive Director, National Labor Committee
"We are living in an extraordinary age of information technology and global markets. How can we think of shaping a new world without emotion and compassion? Let us start by watching the faces and voices of children who are producing wealth for others at the cost of their present and future. The children who are enslaved and forced to an endless life of misery and exploitation. "Children at Work", brings hope in the jungle of digits, and reaffirms our collective commitment that one day, we shall overcome the evil of child labour."
Kailesh Satyarthi, Chairperson, South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude
"The Water Is Ours, Damn It!"
{ a documentary on the uprising against the privatization of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia }
Under pressure from the World Bank, in recent years Bolivia has privatized the country's oil and gas pipelines, airline, railroad and electric utilities. The result has been weaker labor standards, consumer price hikes and service reductions. The opposition to privatization came to a a head when Bolivia sold the water system of Cochabamba, the country's third largest city, to a British-led consortium International Water Limited (IWL). San Francisco, CA-based Bechtel Corp. holds a 50% stake in IWL.
According to a local Bolivian newspaper "the only bidder in the privatization process secured a water system worth millions for a down payment of less than $20,000." Following the purchase, the company increased the water rates by as much as 400 percent.
"The Water Is Ours, Damn It!" features interviews with a wide range of people who were involved in forcing the Bolivian government to back out of the noxious contract. It also includes riveting footage from street battles in Cochabamba, which at one point had up to 100,000 people confronting armed troops. The untold story of Cochabamba that preceded the protests in Seattle over the WTO should not be missed by anyone who is concerned about the evils of corporate globalization.
the king of pluto
{ a documentary about the artist Mike Wrathell }
This is Mike Wrathell: artist, writer, poet, musician, politico. He represents those of us who are not quite mainstream, from his ominous interpretation of Afghanistan as a parking lot to his close encounter with President Bush. Also included in "the king of pluto": his homage to Andy Warhol, his post-911 tributes and his take on the media as thought police.
This is Frankin's first foray into the world of art/experimental videography. Premiering at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival in November 2004, "the king of pluto" received an Award of Excellence at the 2004 Berkeley Film & Video Festival.
