johnpilger.com: The films and journalism of John Pilger
'It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and myths that surround it' - John Pilger
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SMILE ON THE FACE OF THE TIGER
In a recent column for the New Statesman, John Pilger de-codes the "historic" speech President Obama made in Cairo "reaching out to the Muslim world", according to the BBC: in reality showing the seductive face of American power as it proceeds towards its unchanged goal.
BRITAIN: THE DEPTH OF CORRUPTION
John Pilger describes how the current scandal of MPs' tax evasion and phantom mortgages conceals a deeper corruption that is traced back to the political monoculture of the United States.
'THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY' WINS BEST DOC AT THE 2008 ONE WORLD AWARDS
'The War on Democracy', directed by John Pilger & Chris Martin, has won Best Documentary at the prestigious One World Media Awards in London.

It beat a field that included the documentary Oscar winner, 'Taxi to the Dark Side'.

The citation read: "There are six criteria the judges are asked to use to select the winner of this award: the film's impact on public opinion, its appeal to a wide audience, its inclusion of voices from the developing world, its high journalistic or production standards, its success in conveying the impact of the actions of the world's rich on the lives of the poor and the extent to which it draws attention to possible solutions. One film met every one of these. It was the winner of the award: John Pilger's 'The War on Democracy'."

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'HEROES, THE FILMS OF JOHN PILGER 1970-2007' RELEASED IN ONE BOX SET
'Heroes, The Films of John Pilger 1970-2007' is the first definitive collection of ground-breaking films from John Pilger’s career.

Containing all of John Pilger's documentaries from the last four decades, the 16-disc DVD set also includes, for the first time, 'The Outsiders', Pilger’s Channel 4 series of interviews from the 1980s, as well as the award-winning cinema film 'The War on Democracy' and an updated edition of Anthony Hayward’s filmography of Pilger’s work.

A second new John Pilger DVD is also released. 'Behind The Facade' is the fourth in the series of UK box sets and contains 11 more previously unavailable documentaries.

Find out more and buy both of these new DVDs in the Films section. You can also read an interview with John Pilger in the Independent to coincide with the release.
'REPORTING THE WORLD' RELEASED ON DVD

A new John Pilger DVD box-set has been released in the UK, the third in a series which already includes 'In The Name Of Justice' and 'Documentaries That Changed The World'.

The 3-disc set 'Reporting The World' includes 15 more Pilger documentaries from his long and distinguished career, including 'Vietnam: Still America's War', 'The Secret Country' and 'Heroes'.

Find out more in the Films section.

2008 MARTHA GELLHORN PRIZE
The 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for journalism has been shared by two 'extraordinary' winners - Dahr Jamail and Mohammed Omer.
'THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY' RELEASED ON DVD

Following ITV's showing of 'The War on Democracy' last August, more than 10,000 viewers contacted this website to ask about DVD distribution of the film.

'The War on Democracy' was released on DVD in Britain, the US and Australia in January and February 2008. Distribution throughout the US is through Bullfrog, which has carried many of Pilger's collected films.

Lionsgate and Hopscotch marketed the DVD following their successful cinema distribution of the film.

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'INSIDE BURMA' RELEASED ON DVD IN AUSTRALIA

A new John Pilger DVD, 'Inside Burma: Land of Fear', is to be released in Australia in February 2008. The film, first shown in 1996 and updated in 1998, exposes the history and brutality of one of the world's most repressive regimes. The film includes an interview with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Read John Pilger's latest article on Burma, published in the New Statesman in October 2007. In the same month, Pilger also paid tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi at a London meeting organised by PEN and the Writers' Network of Burma.

All Burma articles by John Pilger.

A CHANGE IS GONNA COME
Sam Cooke
'The War on Democracy' features the music of the great Chilean balladeer Victor Jara and the legendary American soul singer Sam Cooke (pictured right).

John Pilger describes Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' as "one of the finest, most lyrical pieces of black music ever written and performed. I was in the southern United States when it was released. It was the time of the civil-rights movement, and Cooke's song spoke to and for all people struggling to be free. The same is true of the ballads of the Jara, whose songs celebrated the popular democracy of Salvador Allende before Pinochet and the CIA extinguished it." www.samcooke.com
THE RISING OF LATIN AMERICA - THE GENESIS OF 'THE WAR ON DEMOCRACY'
"Modern fictional cinema rarely seems to break political silences. The very fine Motorcycle Diaries was a generation too late. In this country, where Hollywood sets the liberal boundaries, the work of Ken Loach and a few others is an honourable exception. However, the cinema is changing as if by default. The documentary has returned to the big screen and is being embraced by the public." John Pilger writes in the Guardian as his acclaimed film 'The War On Democracy' hits UK cinemas.
THE INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT - PILGER AT THE SOCIALISM 2007 CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO
John Pilger addressed the Socialism 2007 conference in Chicago on 16 June. He spoke about what Edward Bernays called the "invisible government which is the true ruling power" - the media - and how propaganda so often disguises itself as journalism.

Read transcript | Watch video
NEW COLLECTION OF PILGER FILMS OUT ON DVD
Documentaries That Changed The World cover

John Pilger DVDs are now available to buy in the UK.

Released on DVD for the first time and personally chosen by John Pilger, the Documentaries That Changed The World & In The Name Of Justice box sets bring together 24 of Pilger's most hard-hitting and inspirational films.

You can also buy John's Australian and American DVDs. More

'FREEDOM NEXT TIME' UPDATED & OUT IN PAPERBACK

A fully updated paperback edition of John Pilger's latest book, Freedom Next Time, is published by Black Swan. For details contact Stina Smemo on ssmemo@transworld-publishers.co.uk

When Nelson Mandela stepped out of prison in 1990, the elation in South Africa and around the world was palpable. But true freedom for his people remains a distant dream. John Pilger describes how people battling to free themselves often glimpse freedom, only to see it taken away.

In South Africa, India, Palestine, Afghanistan and the forgotten Chagos islands, Pilger's vivid eyewitness reporting and tenacious interviews with the powerful blow away the secrets and lies of our rulers and turn a searchlight on to events consigned to shadows by an unrecognised, yet virulent censorship.

Click here to read the Guardian's review of this 'outstanding' book and John Pilger's impressions of the Hay Festival, where he launched 'Freedom Next Time'.

JOURNALISM AS A WEAPON OF WAR
New Statesman cover

In April 2006, John Pilger addressed the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University, New York, in company with Seymour Hersh, Robert Fisk and Charles Glass.

He argued that censorship by journalism is rife in Britain and the US - and it means the difference between life and death for people in faraway countries.

Read the complete or the abridged version of the address, which featured on the front cover of the New Statesman (right).

Articles
BACK TO THE POINT OF DEPARTURE
In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger reflects on the idea of a journey, and wonders, like TS Eliot, if the point of travelling is also to find out where you came from. However, the unsuspected and tragic can change everything.
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DISTANT VOICES, DESPERATE LIVES
John Pilger describes the catastrophe facing the Tamil people of Sri Lanka, whose distant voices have appealed to the world for almost as long as the Palestinians.
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OBAMA'S 100 DAYS - THE MAD MEN DID WELL

John Pilger describes the power of advertising - from the effects of smoking to politics - as he reaches behind the facade of of the first 100 days President Barack Obama.

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THE REDS DOWN UNDER ARE REVOLTING
John Pilger describes a personal loss as the quality of Australia's once distinguished wine declines - a lesson for others as the greed of "cash cropping" threatens a nation's food supply.
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FAKE FAITH & EPIC CRIMES

John Pilger describes a worldwide movement that is 'challenging the once-sacrosanct notion that imperial politicians can destroy countless lives and retain an immunity from justice'. In Tony Blair's case, justice inches closer.

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WAR COMES HOME TO BRITAIN
John Pilger describes the basic freedoms being lost in Britain as the "national security state", imported from the United States by New Labour, takes effect.
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CAMBODIA'S MISSING ACCUSED
In an article for the Guardian, John Pilger calls on his long experience with Cambodia's struggles in lamenting missing faces in the dock at the UN-backed trial of crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge period. Where are Pol Pot's accomplices and collaborators in the West?
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HOLLYWOOD'S NEW CENSORS

John Pilger describes how censorship in Hollywood works in the age of the 'war on terror'. Unlike the crude days of the cold war, it's by omission and 'introspective dross'.

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THE POLITICS OF BOLLOCKS
John Pilger borrows from Lord West of Spithead to deconstruct current mythology, such as the 'impartiality' of the BBC and the 'radical changes' implemented by President Obama.
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COME ON DOWN FOR YOUR FREEDOM MEDALS
John Pilger writes that "as deserving as Tony Blair is of his George W. Bush Freedom Medal, others cry out for a place in his company". Following Israel's assault on Gaza, he offers two additional nominees.
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HOLOCAUST DENIED: THE LYING SILENCE OF THOSE WHO KNOW
John Pilger calls on 40 years of reporting the Middle East to describe the 'why' of Israel's bloody onslaught on the besieged people of Gaza - an attack that has little to do with Hamas or Israel's right to exist.
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THE GOOD NEWS FOR 2009, A SEASONAL WISH LIST
The festive edition of the New Statesman offered a menu of good news to celebrate in 2009. John Pilger added his own wish list.
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