Documentary & Educational Media Distributor of Award-Winning Films for Libraries, Schools and Consumers


........HOME


........FILM CATALOG


........COMMUNITY SCREENINGS


........STUDY GUIDES



........
ACQUISITIONS


........REQUEST CATALOG


........HOW TO ORDER


........E-MAIL US


........PRIVACY POLICY


........GUARANTEE


........CHOICES and PUBLIC
........PERFORMANCE RIGHTS


........ABOUT US







Dateline Afghanistan - Reviews

Booklist - September 15th, 2007

Dateline Afghanistan: Reporting the Forgotten War

9/15/07 issue

2007.  54 min. Choices, DVD $99.95

Veteran journalist Bill Gentile follows several international correspondents as they cover stories about the continuing yet underreported war in Afghanistan. This report on reporters puts viewers on the ground and in the air with U.S. forces, in harried newsrooms with correspondents, and side by side with journalists trying to piece together important and often moving stories from this tumultuous region.

Footage of military operations and locals engaging in daily activities is poignant and engaging, while newsroom scenes illustrate the pressure and fast-paced life of the foreign press. Gentile’s minimal yet authoritative narration allows space for the journalists’ commentary. The film also examines the difficulties of reporting from a war zone, the frustrations of working with the military, and the role and impact of female journalists. DVD extras include a photo gallery, director’s statement, and added footage.

- Elliot Mandel

 

Educational Media Reviews Online - June 2007

Dateline Afghanistan: Reporting the Forgotten War

DVD, Color, 54 mins.

Jr-High/Adult

Human Rights, Journalism, Media Studies, Military Studies, Political Science, Women's Studies

Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR

review  Highly Recommended

Coverage of the war in Afghanistan may be trumped by other headlines, but Dateline Afghanistan is a sobering reminder that journalists there still have a very important story to tell.

A veteran journalist himself, filmmaker Bill Gentile spotlights the forgotten war in Afghanistan through the eyes of its correspondents. He goes alongside reporters from the Associated Press, the BBC, the New York Times, Time, and the Washington Post as they put themselves in harm’s way for a profession and cause that often go unnoticed. He also gleans their perspectives on the cultural and personal challenges of war reporting.

Set against Afghanistan’s breathtaking yet rugged terrain, the film’s powerful images reveal a dichotomy among those who live and fight there. Harshness and poverty are commonplace, but innocence and progress have begun to dot the war-torn landscape. Gentile shows both the victory and shame that are an inevitable part of military operations.

Dateline Afghanistan is an excellent resource for journalism instructors and students. Viewers will see the journalistic information gathering process from start to finish. The film’s special features include a teaching guide available on the Choices web site. A photo gallery, director’s statement, and additional footage are accessible on the DVD’s main menu.

Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. 

Video Librarian - July/August 2007


Dateline Afghanistan: Reporting the Forgotten War ***
(2007) 54 min. DVD: $99.95. Choices, Inc. PPR. ISBN: 978-1-933724-13-3.
This fall will mark the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan, but unlike the war in Iraq, the news from Afghanistan has become increasingly marginalized within the American news stream. Bill Gentile’s interesting documentary Dateline Afghanistan profiles American and British journalists from the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and the BBC, who often face barriers trying to report the latest news from Afghanistan, not the least of which is an American military presence that only seems interested in accommodating positive coverage (journalists encounter an abrupt lack of military cooperation if they cast the occupation in less-than-flattering terms). Even more frustrating is the continuing state of misogyny within Afghan society—for Western women assigned to Afghanistan as journalists, being treated as equals by Afghan men remains a challenge (indeed, it appears that today’s Afghanistan is content to maintain the woman-hating policies brutally enforced by the Taliban). Combining on-location footage with first-hand accounts, this compelling and timely documentary also features DVD extras including bonus footage, a photo gallery, and a downloadable lesson plan/guidebook. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)



Buy This Video

TO ORDER  By Phone: (888) 570-5400  By Mail: Choices, Inc. 369 S. Doheny Dr. PMB 1105 Beverly Hills CA 90211 By Fax: (310) 839-1511
By Email: getinfo@choicesvideo.net .. SITE MAP