geo@watarts.UUCP (06/13/83)
Reading one of Larry Bickford's articles reminded me of a documentary series that I saw some episodes of a few years ago. The show was produced for TVOntario, and it was regarded as quite controversial by the press. As I recall, it was a recreation of a civil trial held in France. I don't recall which party was the plaintiff, but the trial was for slander, or libel, or defamation of character, or something like that. The two parties were a Roman Catholic priest or bishop, who published a newspaper of some sort, and a left-wing lawyer who had been a member of the underground in WWII. The priest had been refering to Jews as 'Christer-killers', and etcetera. Apparently, the trial ended up examining not which of the parties had said what in print, but rather tried to trace the historical responsibility for the death of Christ. Christopher Plummer narrated this rivetting, thought-provoking, responsible production. The director was a refugee from Eastern Europe. Videotapes of shows produced by TVO are available at cost, so long as the show has not been syndicated. For all I know, transcripts too. USENIX is in Toronto next month. It may be possible to arrange a screening. I have arranged screenings through TVO in the past. If there is sufficient interest, I would be prepared to make the local arrangements. Cordially, Geo Swan, Integrated Studies, University of Waterloo (allegra||ihnp4)!watmath!watarts!geo