NEW YORK - September 28 - Due to overwhelming demand, Rethink Afghanistan has extended its October 2^nd premiere. Additional nights include October 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8. The premiere and additional screenings will be held at the Quad Cinema at 34 West 13th St., New York, NY.  

Rethink Afghanistan is a documentary by filmmaker-turned-activist Robert Greenwald, director of Outfoxed, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, and Iraq for Sale.  Rethink Afghanistan was among the first to raise the hard questions regarding the military intervention and is currently part of a growing movement to end the war. Launched in January of 2009 through a series of online segments, Rethink Afghanistan raised significant and serious questions in an effort to change public opinion on the war.

The schedule for screenings and panels is as follows:

October 2

*7:30pm Premiere Night Co-hosted by Brave New Foundation and The Nation magazine, featuring a panel with: Robert Greenwald, Producer/Director of Rethink Afghanistan; Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor of The Nation; and Rep. James McGovern, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts's 3^rd District.

October 3

*4:30pm Hosted by Brave New Foundation featuring: Jeremy Schaill, Investigative Journalist and Robert Greenwald, Producer/Director of Rethink Afghanistan

*7:30pm Hosted by AlterNet, featuring: Jeremy Scahill, Investigative Journalist; Liliana Segura, Editor of World Special Coverage on AlterNet; and Robert Greenwald, Producer/Director of Rethink Afghanistan

 

October 4

*4:30pm Hosted by MADRE featuring: Diana Duarte, MADRE Media Coordinator; Yifat Susskind, MADRE Policy and Communications Director; Indai Sajor, Program Manager for the Gender Equality Program at the United Nations Development Programme in Afghanistan; and Robert Greenwald, Producer/Director of Rethink Afghanistan

*7:30pm Hosted by CREDO Mobile

 

October 6

*7:30pm Hosted by Union Theological Seminary

 

October 7

*7:30pm Hosted by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW)

 

October 8

*7:30pm Hosted by Judson Memorial Church and the Village Independent Democrats

Rethink Afghanistan exposes the true costs of the occupation, the daily struggle facing U.S. soldiers, and the hardships facing Afghan civilians and women, featuring interviews with military personnel, policy experts, journalists, politicians, and Afghan civilians. 

"CREDO Mobile is delighted to share Brave New Foundation's Rethink Afghanistan with our members in New York. Afghanistan has always forced occupying powers to withdraw at high cost - no one has successfully occupied Afghanistan since Genghis Kahn, and there is little reason to believe that our military presence will be more successful than that of the Soviets or the British before us. At the same time, we must have a new strategy that protects civilians, particularly girls and women and does not further destabilize Pakistan." Michael Kieschnick, CREDO President

"I can't help thinking that Afghanistan is like Vietnam: a never-ending quagmire with no good result. The new Greenwald film, Rethink Afghanistan, will raise consciousness and move us away from the knee-jerk escalation toward a creative solution for long-term withdrawal" Don Hazen, AlterNet Executive Editor

"There couldn't be a better time for this film, as opposition to the war in Afghanistan has reached a tipping point.  Brave New Foundation and MADRE join a movement that advances an alternative vision, one that recognizes that no foreign military is going to win the rights of Afghan women--they are doing it themselves." Diana Duarte, MADRE Media Coordinator

"The echo chambers in Washington have long argued that Afghanistan is the war of necessity. This reasoning excluded any opposing viewpoints and has mired us in what is now perceived as the endless war.  With well over 500,000 viewers and growing, we are pleased that Rethink Afghanistan is now at center of the movement to end the war."  Robert Greenwald, Director, Rethink Afghanistan

In recent months, with waning support for the war, hundreds of everyday Americans have gathered to watch segments of the documentary through grass roots screenings in local churches, theaters, and community centers across the country. Rethink Afghanistan is currently being embraced by the growing movement to end the war.