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RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) -- An acclaimed documentary film about The Weathermen, a radical group whose violent campaign against the Vietnam War forced many of its members into hiding, will be shown at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, in Humanities 1500.

Film-maker Sam Green will be on campus to screen and discuss “The Weather Underground,” which was nominated for a 2003 Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Green and fellow director-producer Bill Siegel looked back on the 1960s, when a radical element emerged in the Students for a Democratic Society, which had opposed the war with relatively peaceful demonstrations. The Weathermen urged -- and carried out -- more aggressive forms of dissent.

The movie, described by critic Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times as a “terrifically smart and solid piece of film-making," uses vintage footage and contemporary interviews to show the Weathermen leadership choosing violence -- including the Days of Rage in Detroit and the bombings of federal buildings -- to protest U.S. government actions such as the bombing of Cambodia.

“The Weather Underground” shows leaders including Bernardine Dohrn and Mark Rudd reflecting on their youthful actions from historical, philosophical and personal perspectives, and talking about their revolutionary dreams.

Green received his master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, where he studied documentary film with acclaimed film-maker Marlon Riggs.
Wednesday’s event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by The Program in Film & Video, The Department of English and the UCR Center for Ideas & Society.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 20,500 students. The campus will open a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.