My local peace group shows a movie every month at the library. The past few have been real downers and a couple of the members want something that's about people who are actually managing to make a difference.

Any suggestions?

I can't really throw in names of documentaries here, but just about anything on Bolivia would be good I reckon. From how they defeated Bechtel (water) and then got their local leader elected as president in Evo Morales. Many things in South America is very promising right now tbh.

You can also watch the interview with Norman Finkelstein on Democracy Now a few days ago. Especially the Web Only Part II was pretty interesting and somewhat upbeat - if you are interested in the Middle East. He basically says that things are changing now, and even US Jews are finding it harder and harder to give blind support to whatever crimes Israel are carrying out. I think he's right too. Even the media isn't quite as anti-Palestine as it has been over the last 30-40 years.

It's very easy to get down by watching documentaries about world affairs, cause at times it feels like a very dark place. Which is why I really like how Chomsky usually ends lectures, by saying that the world has moved forward the last 40-50 years, from the civil rights movement and upto the massive demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq.

I have not been back to OneBigTorrent for some time, so it's about time I contributed something useful...

Some uplifting documentaries I've seen in the last few years include:
[*] The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Venezuela)
[*] Bolivia is Not for Sale
[*] Slacker Uprising (though in hindsight, somewhat depressing)
[*] God Spoke (Al Franken -- pretty funny and touching)
[*] Marathon Man (Eddie Izzard's monumental task of running across GBR to raise money for charity; technically a 3-part TV mini-series)
[*] Miracle Planet (the evolution of the Earth)
[*] FLoW - For Love of Water
[*] The Take (about a group of Argentinian workers who take over their factory to prevent it being shut down and sold off piece-by-piece)
[*] The Corporation (a must see -- not without its moments of levity)

Those should keep you busy for a few hrs. If you want your group to have a good time, you can't go wrong with God Spoke. Senator Franken is one of my very few heroes.

Best wishes,
m.t

I myself really loved Kicking It. Its about the homeless world cup, which is pretty amazing that they have it. For me it combined 2 really amazing things, soccer(football) and helping the downtrodden. That and the Take are my 2 favorite documentaries.