Daniel Ellsberg on the Nuclear Threat

A NEW SHORT FILM BY OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMMAKER JUDITH EHRLICH

“We’re continuing year-by-year deliberately with a posture and a policy and threats that make a significant risk of near extinction possible. ”
— DANIEL ELLSBERG in An Ordinary Insanity
https://www.anordinaryinsanity.com

In this 29-minute documentary, renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg provides a powerful wakeup call about the global threat posed by nuclear weapons and how we can dramatically reduce the real and present danger of nuclear annihilation.

Before he released the top secret Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War, Ellsberg was a nuclear war planner with access to classified information on U.S. nuclear strategy.

Filmed a year before his death at age 92, Ellsberg speaks with clarity and urgency about the dangers we face, noting, ”I’ve long said that to my last breath I will be doing what I can to postpone and avert the risk of nuclear war.”

With ongoing conflicts heightening nuclear tensions and with the recent end of the new START treaty potentially triggering a renewed arms race, An Ordinary Insanity is a timely film to help mobilize broad public concern and action for arms control and nuclear disarmament.

VIEW & SHARE THE FILM

The full film is available to view free online, to share, and for public screenings, conferences, classrooms and viewing parties.

“AN ORDINARY INSANITY will both terrify and energize viewers.”
— UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION FILM FESTIVAL

Help insure AN ORDINARY INSANITY is viewed widely to awaken greater public concern and action — share the film online and organize screenings. As history has shown, sustained, broad-based citizen action is an essential catalyst for arms control and disarmament agreements.

Organize a Screening

The film is available free for local and campus screenings, conferences, viewing parties and for classroom use. The full film embedded above is on Vimeo and is higher quality for screenings. The film on YouTube is best for sharing online.

We encourage you to follow film screenings with a discussion that includes specific ways viewers can make a difference. See our Take Action page for ideas.

Promotional Materials

TRAILER – Share the YouTube trailer

GRAPHICS – Images for promotions

PRESS RELEASE – Sample to adapt to your events

Suggested Dates for Screenings

Consider organizing your screening event on one of these historic dates:

• July 16:Anniversary of the 1945 Trinity Test in New Mexico, the first-ever nuclear test.
• August 6:Hiroshima bombing anniversary
• August 9: Nagasaki bombing anniversary
• September 26: Nuclear Abolition Day (International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons). Established by the UN General Assembly.
• October 24–30: UN Disarmament Week. An annual, week-long observance to promote awareness and understanding of disarmament issues.

“This is a blunt instrument. Designed to do exactly what we see. Scare the hell out of you. Get your attention. No sugarcoating. The length of the film is just right to make it an effective organizing tool.”

— Gene Carroll, CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies; former National Labor Coordinator, Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign