Drowning by Bullets by Philip Brooks and Alan Hayling (France, 1992, 52 minutes VHS

Synopsis:
This thorough exposé investigates the 1961 killing of some 200 peaceful Algerian protesters by police in Paris during the Algerian war. The massacre was subject to an aggressive cover-up and media blackout, so that it is now barely remembered. As eyewitness accounts from police, journalists, and protesters recreate the events of that bloody night, the film also tells the larger story of how France’s war in Algeria was used to justify racism, brutality and disregard for the most basic civil rights.
In French with English subtitles.

Post-screening panel discussion with filmmaker Sami Shalom Chetrit, Ammiel Alcalay (Queens College), Mustafa Bayoumi (Brooklyn College) and Ella Shohat (NYU)

Biography:
Philip Brooks was an innovative documentary filmmaker whose work explored the margins of politics, sex and culture. Arriving in Paris in the 1980s as a freelance reporter, Mr. Brooks went on to found the Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. He produced such films as Dear Cheri (1999), A Day Reported Missing (1992), New York-Marseilles and An Account of Catastrophe Foretold (2002). His work was not, however, confined to gay issues. He also produced the investigative report In the Heart of the Poison Trade (1989) and Drowning by Bullets (1992). In 2000, he began work on Steps to the Future, a series of 30 films dealing with the AIDS crisis in the southern region of Africa. One of these films, The Ball by Orlando Mesquita, won the special Cannes Jury prize in 2002. Mr. Brooks died of an HIV related illness in at age 49 in January,2003.  

Alan Hayling is currently Head of Factual Development, Mentorn Barraclough Carey. Mr. Hayling joined the BBC as a graduate trainee and went on to direct such works as Tomorrow’s World and the Tuesday Documentary. After leaving the BBC, he founded Newsreel, an independent film making organization. In 1987, Mr. Hayling founded an independent production company called Voyager Films. He has produced numerous anthropological, social documentaries and current affairs programs.

Festivals & Awards:
Best Documentary, San Francisco Film Festival, 1993
Best Documentary, Angers Film Festival, 1993
Fipa d'Or, Documentaires de Création (France), 1993
Amnesty International Award, 1993