Children of the Revolution (2010 film)

Children of the Revolution
Directed by	Shane O'Sullivan
Produced by	Shane O'Sullivan
Starring	Ulrike Meinhof Fusako Shigenobu Mei Shigenobu Bettina Röhl Astrid Proll Masao Adachi Klaus Rainer Röhl Leila Khaled Bassam Abu Sharif Erika Runge Takaya Shiomi Kyoko Ohtani Jutta Lack-Strecker
Music by	Giles Packham (Waveform Studios)
Cinematography	Robin Probyn Axel Schneppat Bassem Fayad
Editing by	Ben Yeates Fergal McGrath Shane O'Sullivan
Distributed by	E2 Films
Release date(s)	22 November 2010 (2010-11-22) (IDFA)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	Ireland United Kingdom
Language	English

Children of the Revolution is a 2010 documentary by Irish filmmaker Shane O'Sullivan about Ulrike Meinhof and Fusako Shigenobu, leaders of the German Red Army Faction and the Japanese Red Army.^[1]

Inspired by the student revolutions of 1968 and appalled by the killing in Vietnam, Meinhof and Shigenobu set out to destroy capitalist power through world revolution. They travelled to the Middle East to train with Palestinian freedom fighters and, alongside Leila Khaled, became the leading female revolutionaries of their time.^[2]

Authors and journalists Bettina Röhl and Mei Shigenobu explore the lives of their mothers, Ulrike and Fusako, providing a unique perspective on two of the most notorious “terrorists” in contemporary history. On the run or kidnapped when their mothers went underground, May and Bettina emerged from difficult childhoods to lead their own extraordinary lives. With capitalism once more in crisis, they reflect on their mother's actions as the film asks: what were they fighting for and what have we learned?

Shot in Tokyo, Beirut, Jordan and Germany, the film tells the stories of Meinhof and Shigenobu through the eyes of May and Bettina, using rare archive footage of student protests and guerilla training camps in Germany, Japan and the Middle East.

The film premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in November 2010^[3] and has screened at several international festivals.^[4] It had its broadcast premiere on German channel Westdeutscher Rundfunk on May 30, 2011^[5] and will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom in September 2011.^[6]

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980056
2. ^ http://www.childrenoftherevolution.co.uk
3. ^ http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=756f781f-69c7-42d3-88ec-34829f429941
4. ^ http://jdiff.ticketsolve.com/shows/126512314/events
5. ^ http://www.wdr.de/tv/wdr-dok/sendungsbeitraege/2011/0530/Kinder_der_Revolution.jsp
6. ^ http://www.childrenoftherevolution.co.uk

External links

• Official website
• Children of the Revolution at the Internet Movie Database