VETERANS AGAINST NUCLEAR WAR DOCUMENTARY PREMIERS AT WORLD PEACE FORUM JUNE 26

World War II veterans witnessed first hand the destruction of cities and civilian populations caused by conventional weapons. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, a group of Canadian veterans decided they had to speak out against nuclear weapons which could bring an end to all human civilization.

Veterans Against Nuclear War is their plea to the world to abolish nuclear weapons before their use inflicts unimaginable suffering and the deaths of millions. Directed by Anton Wagner, the feature-length documentary will have its world premiere at the Royal Bank Cinema, UBC Chan Centre, as part of the World Peace Forum on Monday, June 26, at 2:30 pm. Admission is free and open to the public.

Veterans Against Nuclear War asks us to imagine the actual consequences of the use of nuclear weapons through the first hand testimony of Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow, Nagasaki POW Jack Ford from St. John's, and historic film and photographs of the two atomic bombings. Peace activist Phyllis Creighton (Science for Peace and the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), novelist Joy Kogawa (writing a novel about the atomic bombing of Nagasaki), and the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba (Mayors for Peace), add their voices to the call for the total abolition of nuclear weapons. The World War II veterans in the film, now in their 80s and 90s, express their hope that a new generation of peace activists will speak out and join forces with anti-nuclear movements.

The documentary premiere screening at the UBC Chan Centre will be followed by a
discussion with filmmaker Anton Wagner, Setsuko Thurlow, Phyllis Creighton, Joy
Kogawa, and Ed Livingston, acting president of Veterans Against Nuclear Arms.

VANA was founded in Halifax in 1982 by Giff Gifford, a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Gifford had participated in the firebombing of Dresden in
February of 1943 in which 35,000 civilians were burned to death, foreshadowing the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Local VANA chapters across Canada actively lobbied the federal government, spoke to the media and participated in demonstrations against war and nuclear weapons. With advancing age, only a few hundred VANA members are still alive. Veterans Against Nuclear War is part of their legacy.

For further information:
Anton Wagner, Anton Wagner Productions, 416-863 1209; fax: 416-863 9973
awagner@yorku.ca