"We Are Many": Documentary project unveils roots of global protest movement

London, 17.11.2011 The Documentary project "We Are Many" sheds new light on the largest protest march in history: the global demonstration against the Iraq War on 15th February 2003. For the very first time a film team shows this landmark moment of people power from the perspective of its participants, revealing the full impact it had on the political protest movements we are witnessing in cities all around the world right now.

"The topic taps the pulse of our time," says director Amir Amirani, who is known for critically acclaimed documentaries for the BBC and was nominated for awards such as the Amnesty International Award or One World Broadcasting Trust Award. "We are going through a unique period of global protest," he explains. Whether the 99% in New York, the anti-cuts movement in London or the Arab Spring: "All around the world people raise their voice, demanding justice and democracy."

Amirani makes the case that the current protest movements were strongly influenced by the historic demonstration against the Iraq War on 15th February 2003. His timely film project "We Are Many" aims at revealing this link, focusing on a view which has been ignored by the media so far: the personal stories of the people who took part in the protests. The documentary has been in preparation and pre-production for the last five years and is planned to be ready for the 10th anniversary of the protest in 2013.

But "We Are Many" is more than a documentary film.

Platform for solidarity

"We want to show that the big demonstration in 2003 gave birth to a new spirit," Amirani explains. "We want to record that, giving people the chance to tell the world what really happened." To reach that goal, Amir Amirani has set up a community platform for the many voices that took part in the protest.

On www.wearemany.tv people are now invited to tell their stories of the day, connect with others who were there, exchange thoughts or express their opinion, thus helping establish a permanent online archive about the historic event. "Our aim is to bring together in one website all of the people around the world who took part that day. It will be an amazing community with a powerful voice."

The film has already attracted the support of many leading organizations in Europe and the US, and individuals, including actors Tim Robbins and Danny Glover, writer Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, film director Ken Loach, Jesse Jackson, musician Brian Eno, and the co-founder of Avaaz. The Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman will write the musical score for the film.

Misleading media coverage

The public outcry against the Iraq War was the largest protest that has ever taken place in human history. Around 30 million people took to the streets in more than 700 cities, simultaneously raising their voice against the war.

However, despite the global scale the protest was reflected by the media as a failure.

"People assumed it had no effect because the protests did not stop the war," says Amirani, who took part in Berlin after Berlinale 2003 and followed the topic ever since. "Looking at the protest as a one-time-event is too superficial - history does not work like that," he says. "Social movements take time to develop, which is why we need to look deeper."

The documentary project "We Are Many" makes the case that the landmark protest in 2003 kicked off a new public self-esteem, showing for the very first time the strength of people in numbers. "The scale of solidarity was unbelievable: there were 500,000 people in Berlin, over 2 Million in London, 3 million in Rome, 1.5 million in Barcelona, and it happened all over the world," remembers Amirani.

"We will show that the spark that was ignited then is at the heart of what we can witness today in NewYork, London, the MiddleEast and thousands of other cities around the globe."

New superpower

In Germany, the anti-war movement was supported from early on. Already one year before the global demonstration took place, former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared a public and decisive "No" to the war. The so-called "Declaration of Schwerin" put the German-American relations to the test. But the veto complied with public opinion, leading to the re-election of Gerhard Schröder in 2002.

To date the scale and impact of the global demonstration in 2003 is unnoticed in mainstream media. Only the intellectual elite saw straight away the early signs of how the movement was going to evolve. Philosopher Jürgen Habermas noted shortly after the event: "History will recall the protests as the birth of a new European sphere."

And this is what we can witness today: The current protests change political structures and the lives of people all around the world. "Public opinion is the new superpower," says director Amir Amirani. "We don't know what happens next. But we know that something fundamental is changing."

"We Are Many" catches the zeitgeist, documenting the awakening of a new public self-esteem and showing how people claim their power.

Did you take part in the protest? Or do you have a story to tell? You can share your experience and find further information on www.wearemany.tv.

You can also support the production of the documentary financially. On http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/733111346/we-are-many you can contribute an individual donation starting from 1 Dollar and help make the documentary happen.

Press contact Germany:
Ramona Fischer
fischer_ramona (at) gmx.de

Contact London:
Amir Amirani
Director
86 Victoria Road,
London, NW6 6QA
Tel: + 44 207 328 2378

This release was published on openPR.