Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan 1948 - 1953

Thu, Nov 10
7:30pm
General $8, free for PFA Members and UC Berkeley students

Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan 1948 - 1953
Program 2: Help Is On the Way

Introduced by Sandra Schulberg
co-presented by Goethe-Institut San Francisco

By 1949, the Marshall Plan Motion Picture Section was in full swing,
and its filmmakers were challenged to turn people's despair into
optimism. The films in this program embody the can-do spirit of the
Marshall Planners before anti-Communist anxieties set in. From the
American point of view, productivity was the key to prosperity, but
it had to be tempered with respect for traditional European
craftsmanship. These themes are amusingly teckled in THE
EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF A QUART OF MILK (1951, 14 mins), THE HOME
WE LOVE (1950, 15 mins), and RICE AND BULLS (1950, 15 mins), all set
in France. Thrilling struggles to reclaim land and find water for
irrigation are recounted in ISLAND OF FAITH (1950, 20 mins) and TOWN
WITHOUT WATER (1949, 13 mins). When it seemed the elder generation
would never change, the Marshall Planners aimed at the young. HANSL
AND THE 200,000 CHICKS (1952, 15 mins) is one of the most charming
examples. The Marshall Plan operated in 17 countries, plus the city-
state of Trieste. ERP IN ACTION VOL. 1 NO. 5 (1950, 14 mins) takes
you on a tour of aid projects in Portugal, Great Britain, Belgium,
and Greece - all set to the jaunty tunes typical of fifties newsreels.

Total running time 106 mins.

Venue:

Pacific Film Archive
2575 Bancroft Way
Berkeley
510-642-1124
www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

2575 Bancroft Way
Between College and Telegraph,
Nearest BART station: Downtown Berkeley Station, 15min. walk to the
Pacific Film Archive
For more public transit information, please see
http:www.transitinfo.org

Additional Info:

510-642-1124
www.bampfa.berkeley.edu