Harold Crooks Movies

As humanity basks in the glow of a century of unprecedented technological progress in the early years of the 21st century, a growing number of scientists wonder if we're really as well off as we imagine. While the world has a remarkable range of products and services at its disposal, we also have a dwindling supply of un-renewable natural resources, an environment damaged by global warming, a faltering global economy, and large parts of the world are demanding a First World standard of living while the nations that created it are struggling to keep their heads above water. Has the world become a victim of its own desire for progress? Filmmakers Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks examine the price we are paying for years of short-term advancement with little thought of long-term consequences in the documentary Surviving Progress. Featuring interviews with Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall, David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, Jim Thomas and many more, Surviving Progress offers a sobering look at how unchecked science and economics have taken the world down a dangerous path, and what can be done to create a more sustainable future. Adapted from Ronald Wright's book A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress was an official selection at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmmaker Bob Coen ponders the terrifying possibilities of chemical and biological warfare in this chilling documentary. Taking as his launching point the 2001 anthrax attacks that occurred in the U.S. during the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Coen sets out on a global journey that encompasses the FBI's investigation of that case; the documented use of germ warfare on black South Africans by the apartheid government; the mysterious deaths of biological-weapons experts David Kelly and Bruce Ivins; and the burgeoning yet unregulated bio-defense industry. ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi

In the '80s, political unrest in Nicaragua became a leading news story around the world after the left-wing (and Socialist influenced) Sandinista rebels gained control of the nation following the collapse of the corrupt regime of Anastasio Somoza. The United States, who had backed Somoza, was unhappy with this turn of events and attempted to unseat the Sandinistas by giving financial and military support to the Contras (right-wing guerillas loyal to Somoza), largely through illicit means. The media took it upon themselves to put Nicaragua's trials in the spotlight, and in 1987, the documentary The World Is Watching examined how the international attention given to the story by the media impacted the battle between the Sandinistas and the Contras, as well as offered the perspectives of the reporters covering these events. At the dawn of the 21st Century, however, press coverage of Nicaragua had all but vanished while the nation's problems continued to grow in the face of dire poverty, poor education, disease, and continued unrest. The World Stopped Watching picks up where the earlier film left off as filmmaker Peter Raymont and his crew travel to Nicaragua to explore what became of the nation's revolution, how the people feel about the struggle of Right versus Left (and Ronald Reagan's role in the conflict) over 15 years later and speak with those who witnessed the turmoil first hand. Produced in part by the National Film Board of Canada, The World Stopped Watching has been released in two versions -- a 57-minute cut for television and an 82-minute edition for theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi