The War at Home documentary film

The Oscar-nominated feature made history with its coverage of the mass movement that was launched by student protests on the UW campus.

About THE WAR AT HOME  In the late 1960s, the U.S. anti-war movement fermented in America's heartland. Student protests at the University of Wisconsin escalated from civil disobedience to violent rebellion when a bomb exploded at the Army Math Research facility. Praised by Michael Moore as "one of the best documentaries ever made," this 1979 film documents a turning point in American history using a treasure trove of 16mm newsreel footage from the 1960s. The Oscar-nominated film resonates today more than ever and reminds us of the importance of preserving media archives. Speaking of the film, Glenn says: "The War at Home shows how political resistance against the war started small in 1963 and grew into a mass movement that helped bring the war to a close. Today, the Climate Crisis has emerged as the new 'war at home' and a new protest movement is taking action to protest the government and fossil fuel industry policies that threaten our planet.”

About the filmmakers After co-directing THE WAR AT HOME, his first full-length documentary, Glenn Silber (left) went on to become a television producer, working on over 80 primetime news stories for network television, as well as producing long-form documentaries for PBS Frontline, 20/20 and 60 Minutes. His documentary El Salvador: Another Vietnam (1981) earned him his second Academy-Award nomination. He is also the recipient of two Emmy Awards. Barry Alexander Brown (right) has continued to work as a director, producer and editor, mainly on narrative films. He is a long-time collaborator of Spike Lee, having edited the 1989 Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X (1992). Most recently he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Editing on BlacKkKlansman (2018). He is currently directing his first narrative feature.

Praise for THE WAR AT HOME Meticulously constructed ... One of the great works of American documentary moviemaking.  New York Film Festival (2018) The reflective narrative offered by THE WAR AT HOME, about the charged, escalating battleground that was the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison is an invaluable one. Never more so than today.  Los Angeles Times (2018) THE WAR AT HOME documentary returns with a message that still resonates.  Detroit Free Press (2018) The War at Home is Available on Netflix, click here Fifty years ago, activists across the country spoke out against the war.  "The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam" was a massive demonstration and teach-in across the United States (including 15,000 demonstrating in Madison and several Wisconsin cities) against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. It took place on October 15, 1969, followed a month later by the National Mobilization in  Washington on Nov. 15, 1969, that attracted more than 500,000 antiwar protesters with the support of many active-duty GIs in Vietnam. These events are among the many important events of the Antiwar Movement documented in the film The War at Home. The War at Home had its World Premiere at the Majestic Theater in Madison on October 12, 1979.  The film was restored from its original 16mm format to a new 4K Digital Cinema Package (DCP) and had its 4K “premiere” at the 2018 New York Film Festival. Silber says, “The War at Home shows how a political resistance movement against the war in Vietnam started very small in 1963 and grew over the following decade to where it became a majority movement in the U.S. that helped bring the war to a close.  “Today, the climate crisis is the ‘new war at home’ -- and a national a new global protest movement is taking action to protest government inaction and a fossil fuel industry that is fueling global warming and climate change, threatening our planet.  Last week in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and in cities all over the U.S., we saw young people leading a new protest movement to ensure they have a safe, sustainable clean energy future.  No political issue is more important today.” The NYFF Film Festival listing read as follows: The War at Home Directors Glenn Silber and Barry Alexander Brown, USA, 1979, 100 min. A Catalyst Media Productions release. This meticulously constructed 1979 film recounts the development of the movement against the American war in Vietnam on the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, from 1963 to 1970. Using carefully assembled archival and news footage and thoughtful interviews with many of the participants, it culminates in the 1967 Dow Chemical sit-in and the bombing of the Army Math Research Center three years later. One of the great works of American documentary moviemaking, The War at Home has also become a time capsule of the moment of its own making, a welcome emanation from the era of analog editing, and a timely reminder of how much power people have when they take to the streets in protest. For info on this award-winning film go to: www.TheWarAtHome.tv