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SEEING IS BELIEVING: Handicams Human Rights and the

    From Rodney King to Osama Bin Laden, Handicams aren't just for weddings and family vacations. SEEING IS BELIEVING is an unprecedented exploration into the political and social uses of handicams and new communications technologies. Human rights activists, war crimes investigators, right-wing videographers and ordinary citizens are arming themselves with the tools of the new visual revolution. What happens when amateur front-line advocates pick up camcorders to document what they see? What are the risks and responsibilities? And what are the wider impacts on television and audiences? On international law and society? On documentary practice? Co-directed by Katerina Cizek and Peter Wintonick, SEEING IS BELIEVING illuminates the work and words of key international journalists and media activists. It also shines a verité spotlight on Joey Lozano, a courageous video-activist who documents rights abuses against indigenous people in dangerous corners of the Southern Philippines. But does Joey?s camera prevent violence - or jeopardize lives? Drawn from original shooting around the world, and sampling hundreds of hours of exclusive archives, SEEING IS BELIEVING provides a dramatic window into the power of do-it-yourself film-making. 2002. Canada. 58'.

    May 15, 2009