The Panama Deception

A Film Produced By Barbara Trent

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University of Ottawa
Friday March 14, 2008
Screening begins 19h30
Venue: MacDonald Hall Auditorium (MCD 146), 150 Louis Pasteur Street, Ottawa, Ontario

USA/1992/91 minutes/English

A riveting Academy Award-winning critique of the government's history of militarization, made all the more timely by the current war on terrorism.

The Panama Deception documents the untold story of the December 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama; the events which led to it; the excessive force used; the enormity of the death and destruction; and the devastating aftermath. The Panama Deception uncovers the real reasons for this internationally condemned attack, presenting a view of the invasion which widely differs from that portrayed by the U.S. media and exposes how the U.S. government and the mainstream media suppressed information about this foreign policy disaster.

The Panama Deception includes never before seen footage of the invasion and its aftermath, as well asinterviews with both invasion proponents like Gen. Maxwell Thurman, Panamanian President Endara andPentagon spokesperson Pete Williams, and opponents like U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY.), Panamanian human rights workers Olga Mejia and Isabel Corro and former Panamanian diplomat Humberto Brown. Network news clips and media critics contribute to a staggering analysis of media control and selfcensorship relevant to any news coverage today, particularly during times of war.

Among the film's excellent reviews are: "meticulously researched" (Hal Hinson, Washington Post);"outstanding" (Betsy Sherman, Boston Globe); "tough....provocative....moving....beautifully edited" (Vincent Canby, New York Times); and "lays out simply and forcefully the case against the 'official' version" (Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times).

The Empowerment Project (EP) worked on this production for two years. EP first came to prominence in 1988 with the release of the equally acclaimed Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair. EP is a non-profit media resource center committed to democratizing the media. Each year, hundreds of independent filmmakers use EP's edit facilities and other services. EP has recently moved its offices out of New York and California. The new headquarters for all operations is now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Since its August 1992 release, The Panama Deception has played in 80 cities, including an eight-week runin Seattle and a five-week holdover in New York City. The film appeared in video stores in August 1993. It was cablecast on Cinemax in the United States during October of that same year and currently, Bravo-the IndependentFilm Channel retains the rights to cablecast the film. Many local affiliates of PBS have broadcast the film butnational PBS, however, has refused to broadcast the film despite the Congressional mandate explicitly requiringthat both sides of controversial issues be included in PBS's overall programming. Internationally, the film has been broadcast in Australia, Canada, Poland, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Portugal, the U.K., Iran, Israel, Finland,Switzerland, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, Norway, the People's Republic of China, S. Korea, Italy, Turkey, Russia,S. Africa, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Algeria, Malaysia, and Czechoslovakia. A ban on the film originally imposed by the Panamanian government was lifted in March 1993, following strong internal and international pressure.

Funding for The Panama Deception has been provided, in part, by: Channel Four in London, Rhino Home Video,the I. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, the Rex Foundation, the Peace Development Fund, the National Councilof Churches, the CarEth Foundation, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, the Funding Exchange/PaulRobeson Fund for Film and Video, The Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, EssentialInformation, the Vanguard Public Foundation, Lucille Banta, Michelle Connor, filmmaker Michael Moore and hundreds of individual donors.

The films producer Barbara Trent:
www.imdb.com/name/nm0872134

Movie clip:

Elizabeth Montgomery ... Herself (Narrator) (voice)
Abraham Alvarez ... English Voice-over (voice)
Carlos Cantú ... English Voice-over (voice) (as Carlos Cantu)
Diviana Ingravallo ... English Voice-over (voice)

Alma Martínez ... English Voice-over (voice) (as Alma Martinez)

Lou Diamond Phillips ... English Voice-over (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ashton Bancroft ... Himself (president, Refugee Committee)
Manuel Becker ... Himself (Panamanian cameraman)
Larry Birns ... Himself (Council on Hemispheric Affairs)
Esmeralda Brown ... Herself (UN Methodist Office)
Humberto Brown ... Himself (former Panamanian diplomat)
Eugene Carroll ... Himself (Center for Defense Information) (as Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll)
Julio Cesar Guerra ... Himself (Panamanian photojournalist)
Ramsey Clark ... Himself
Jeff Cohen ... Himself (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
Isabel Corro ... Herself (Association of the Dead of December 20th)
Jose De Jesus Martinez ... Himself (author, professor)
Roberto Durán ... Himself (as Roberto Duran)
Guillermo Ford ... Himself (Vice-President of Panama) (also archive footage)
Gavrielle Gemma ... Herself (director, Independent Commission of Inquiry)
Balbina Herrera de Periñan ... Herself (Panamanian National Assembly)
Mark Hertsgaard ... Himself (author, journalist)
Alejandro James Jr. ... Himself (US Agency for International Development)
Robert Knight ... Himself (investigative journalist)
Peter Kornbluh ... Himself (senior analyst, National Security Archive)
David MacMichael ... Himself (former CIA analyst)
Robert Matthews ... Himself (New York University) (as Prof. Robert Matthews)
Olga Mejia ... Herself (National Human Rights Commission)
Jose Morin ... Himself (Center for Constitutional Rights)
Rafael Olivardia ... Himself (community leader, El Chorrio)
Michael Parenti ... Himself (author, professor)
Charles Rangel ... Himself (as Rep. Charles Rangel)
Peter Dale Scott ... Himself (author, professor)
Cecilio Simon ... Himself (University of Panama) (as Prof. Cecilio Simon)
Maxwell Thurman ... Himself (commander, US Army, Southern Command) (as Gen. Maxwell Thurman)
Valerie Van Isler ... Herself (international journalist)
Doug Vaughan ... Himself (investigative journalist)
Sabina Virgo ... Herself (US national labour organizer)
Pete Williams ... Himself (Pentagon Spokesperson)

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