Bomb Harvest
Encyclopedia
Bomb Harvest is a 2007 documentary film
directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt, and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski. It explores the consequences of war in Laos
as it follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist, training locals in the skill of detonating bombs while trying to stop villagers, particularly children, from finding them and using them for scrap metal.
During the American War in Vietnam, Laos was the target of the heaviest US bombing campaign since World War II
, making Laos the most bombed country in history. The legacy is a large amount of unexploded ordnance
, ranging from small cluster bomb
submunitions to large gravity bomb
s.
Bomb Harvest explores how three generations of people have been left to deal with the consequences of the air war
, and depicts the bravery of those trying to clear up its remnants.
The film crew spent two months on the ground with bomb disposal teams from the Mines Advisory Group
as they dealt with live bombs, in areas of Laos which have never been filmed in before. The film premiered at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival, and won a Children's Advocacy award at the 2008 Artivist Film Festival
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt, and produced by Sylvia Wilczynski. It explores the consequences of war in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
as it follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist, training locals in the skill of detonating bombs while trying to stop villagers, particularly children, from finding them and using them for scrap metal.
During the American War in Vietnam, Laos was the target of the heaviest US bombing campaign since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, making Laos the most bombed country in history. The legacy is a large amount of unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...
, ranging from small cluster bomb
Cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...
submunitions to large gravity bomb
Gravity bomb
An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence, simply follows a ballistic trajectory....
s.
Bomb Harvest explores how three generations of people have been left to deal with the consequences of the air war
Air War
"Air War" is a single by Crystal Castles. It was released on 17 December 2007 on London UK's Trouble Records as 7" vinyl. An earlier version of the song was released in July 2006 as the B-Side to "Alice Practice" on London UK's Merok Records. The lyrics are from the James Joyce book Ulysses...
, and depicts the bravery of those trying to clear up its remnants.
The film crew spent two months on the ground with bomb disposal teams from the Mines Advisory Group
Mines Advisory Group
The Mines Advisory Group is a Non-Governmental Organisation , which assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance and SALW ....
as they dealt with live bombs, in areas of Laos which have never been filmed in before. The film premiered at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival, and won a Children's Advocacy award at the 2008 Artivist Film Festival
Artivist Film Festival & Awards
The Artivist Film Festival & Awards is an international film festival and awards ceremony dedicated to recognizing activist efforts of filmmakers, specifically in the areas of human rights, child advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal rights....
.
See also
- Cluster Munition CoalitionCluster Munition CoalitionThe Cluster Munition Coalition is an international civil society movement campaigning against the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are a type of explosive weapon widely stockpiled by more than 80 states...
- Convention on Cluster MunitionsConvention on Cluster MunitionsThe Convention on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty that prohibits the use, transfer and stockpile of cluster bombs, a type of explosive weapon which scatters submunitions over an area. The convention was adopted on 2008 in Dublin, and was opened for signature on 2008 in Oslo...
- International Campaign to Ban LandminesInternational Campaign to Ban LandminesThe International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working for a world free of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.The coalition was formed in...
- History of LaosHistory of Laos-Earliest known history and the founding of Lan Xang:The earliest Laos legal document is known as "the laws of Khun Borom" , still preserved in manuscript form.This set of memoriter laws is written in a type of indigenous blank verse, and reflects the state of proto-Lao society as early...
- Fred BranfmanFred BranfmanFred Branfman is a US-American anti-war activist and author of a number of books about the Indochina War. Working as the Director of Project Air War in 1969 he wrote about the U.S. bombing in Indochina, purportedly directed at undefended civilians....
- Plain of JarsPlain of JarsThe Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. Scattered in the landscape of the Xieng Khouang plateau Xieng Khouang, Lao PDR, are thousands of megalithic jars...