Made by independent film maker and Derry native, Gabrielle Tierney, the film 'Not in Our Name', is being billed as an "inspiring story of resistance in times of peace and war."
The story began on July 12, 2006, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers, Israel launched a military campaign against Lebanon. Lasting 34 days, the conflict killed approximately 1,200 Lebanese people-the vast majority of them civilians.
One of the most startling events of this period was the Qana massacre which killed 28 people, mostly women and children.
This event sparked world wide protests from anti-war movements, including Derry. International arms manufacturer Raytheon has a base in the city whose missiles and technology were actively assisting Israel's invasion of Lebanon. In particular, the company's base in the city helped produce GBU-28 'bunker busters'-the weapons deployed in Qana.
At 8am on the morning of August 9, 2006, nine men, decided to take the law into their own hands and took and more direct approach to protest and stormed the rayhteon factory and set about destroying the equipment and computers in order to put a halt to arms production and Israel's military campaign.
After spending eight hours inside, about 40 policemen wearing riot gear entered the factory. The nine protestors were eventually arrested, charged and put on trial. On june 11, 2008, in a landmark decision and by unanimous verdict of the jury, the Raytheon 9 as they were called, were found not guilty of three counts of criminal damage.
Messages of solidarity for the nine men emanated from comedian Mark Thomas, Respect MP George Galloway and US intellectual Noam Chomsky. The actions of the Raytheon 9 have also inspired anti-war protestors across the globe to use the events as a campaigning tool.
The story continued on January 12, 2009, when nine Derry women entered the building that houses Raytheon, chained themselves to each other and to the internal doors leading to the arms company's part of the buildings. After a long stand off with the police the protestors were arrested and charged with similar offences to those of their male conterparts.
'Not in Our Name' is a story of international solidarity and compartive politics between Northern Ireland and the Middle East. The film includes interviews to many of the Raytheon activists including journalist and activist Eamonn McCann, Tony Benn and Mark Steel.
The forst showing of 'Not in Our Name' will take place in Sandino's Bar, Water Street, Derry, Saturday October 31 at 2pm- For further information contact notinourname@gmail.com