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The People vs. Agent Orange (2020)

87 mins | Documentary

We collaborated with Dir. Alan Adelson and Dir. Kate Taverna as a technical and research advisor and outreach coordinator on their film, "The People vs. Agent Orange" (2020), which exposes the toxic legacy of Agent Orange. The film features Tran To Nga and the lead up to her landmark case in Paris against the chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the war. The film also follows Carol Van Strumm who fought to end the use of 2,4,5-T in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S as well as more recently the spraying of 2,4-D in the State forests near her home in Washington. The film aired on PBS Independent Lens in 2021 and is available now for streaming. We coordinated and participated in Webinar discussions about the film and the issues it raises.

The Agent Orange catastrophe did not end with the Vietnam War. Today, Dioxin, a contaminant of the toxic defoliant, still causes congenital birth defects and deadly sicknesses and illnesses. Two heroic women are fighting to hold the manufacturers accountable and helping the world overcome Agent Orange's legacy.

Watch the Film Now!

Virtual Theaters

Stream the movie on Amazon through PBS Documentaries

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Stream the movie on iTunes.

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The DVD is available for purchase at the PBS Shop.

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Educational Distribution is available through Collective Eye.

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Watch the movie outside of the U.S. (except Canada and Romania) via Video On Demand through its international distributor Java Films.

NEWS ABOUT THE FILM

RADIO INTERVIEWS

The Past and Present of Agent Orange - Interview with Alan Aldelson and Carol Van Strum
 
Leonard Lopate, WBAI - Interview with Kate Taverna and Carol Van Strum

Climate One - Should Nature have Rights? Carol Van Strum and Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin

Veteran's Radio - Update French Courts Dismiss Agent Orange Case - Alan Aldelson and Kate Taverna

Veteran's Radio Wounded Heros and the People VS Agent Orange - Alan Aldeson and Kate Taverna

KXCR Conversations with LARRY BLOOMFIELD, Florence, OR with Kate Taverna and Alan Adelson

Ecocide: The Gift That Keeps Taking - Kate Taverna and Alan Aldelson

Center Stage with Mark Gordon - Interview with Kate Taverna and Alan Adelson

WEBINARS

A round-table discussion at the Movies that Matter 2021 Film festival on the subject of ecocide being codified as a crime by the International Criminal Court at the Hague. The film The People vs. Agent Orange inspired the discussion and is excerpted.

Q&A with Filmmakers and Activists.
 
Filmmakers: Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna
Oregon resident featured in the film: Dr. Renee Stringham Members of Community Rights Chapters in Lane and Lincoln county: Debra Fant and David Tvedt.

The Promise Institute for Human Rights at the UCLA Law School hosted a discussion on Redefining Ecocide - answering renewed calls to protect the environment and the life which depends on it.

Webinars

The legacy of Agent Orange is not just a cautionary tale, but a critically pressing humanitarian issue around which advocates have campaigned for accountability for decades. To mark the release of the documentary The People vs. Agent Orange, the Vietnam Legacies Project at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center hosted a roundtable with activists and families of impacted veterans.

In conjunction with The Darkside Cinema run in Corvallis, Oregon, in January 2021, Andrew Collins-Anderson of The Coast Range Association discusses People vs. Agent Orange with panelists.

On December 2, 2020, after the opening night at the Global Health Film Festival in the U.K., Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor at The Financial Times speaks with panelists.

 

Michael's research shows how exposure to toxins leads to increased susceptibility to disease in future generations. 

Community Rights activists from Oregon share their experiences living with the aerial spraying of herbicides. Dr. Renee Stringham reports on caring for patients exposed to toxic sprays, of delivering babies born with significant birth defects and of a threat to her children. Community rights activists discuss their efforts to change local and state, detailing their campaign to protect the rights of nature.

In this powerful panel, Hoan Thi Tran and Heather Bowser share their personal stories. Jonathan Moore discusses the U.S. legal cases around Agent Orange, and Tricia Euvrard talks about the current lawsuit in France. Susan Schnall talks about the broad health effects of Agent Orange, and Paul Cox briefly discusses the legislation on Agent Orange that U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee will soon introduce.

Filmmakers Kate Taverna and Alan Adelson in conversation with producer Veronique Bernard about their 2021 film THE PEOPLE VS. AGENT ORANGE which follows two heroic women leading a worldwide movement to end the use of Agent Orange and hold the manufacturers accountable.

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