Humanitarian Citadel ( Citadelle Humanitaire ) ( Bastion der Menschlichkeit )

Humanitarian Citadel (DVD) (*)

~~$48.99~~ $42.97

Original Title: Citadelle Humanitaire
Alternate Title: Bastion der Menschlichkeit
Language Selections:
Arabic ( Subtitles )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital Stereo )
German ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Switzerland ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
96 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Short Film

Movie filmed in 2008 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Frederic Gonseth

Written By:
Frederic Gonseth

Actors:
Frederic Gonseth
Catherine Azad

Synopsis:

"Humanising" war is a gruelling task. But then, Arabian tribesmen with ageing rifles pitted against Migs make for a gruelling clash. What did a humanitarian envoy carrying a Swiss passport, the one famous for its white cross on a red background, hope to accomplish ...? Yet sending dozens of delegates and a mix of Swiss, German and French doctors into the civil war that raged in feudal Yemen in the 1960s turned out to be the most dramatic and effective action mounted by the International Committee of the Red Cross at a time when it was still the only player on the scene, and when NGOs were as yet unknown. The story is told by those who risked their lives conducting the operation, starting with the mission leader, André Rochat. It takes us from the desert to the behind-the-scenes bastion of humanitarian power and to the fountainhead of the struggle for human dignity, amid a decor of citadels as old as the Bible ? citadels that even today remain partly intact.

It's a tough task: the humanization of war. And a big shock: fighter jets against the old weapons of feudal tribes. What can this Swiss man hope for, flying the famous white flag with the red cross in the Arab desert? The deployment of several hundred delegates and doctors from Switzerland, Germany and France into the civil war which raged in a 1960s Yemeni - though the country was trapped in the middle ages - was the International Committee of the Red Cross's most spectacular and effective action in a time when it was still independently active, with no talk of NGO's. The adventure is recounted by those who risked their lives under this mission, led by André Rochat. The narration takes us behind the scenes of humanitarian power in the desert to the roots of the struggle and the people's dignity. The setting is made up of citadels as old as the bible itself, which are partly intact even till today.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 06 October, 2010.