Breaking Ranks
Canada 2006 • 52 mins • Director: Michelle Mason
Four U.S. soldiers seek sanctuary in Canada as part of their resistance to the war
in Iraq. With intimate access to these American military deserters, their lawyers
and families, this fi lm documents their experiences as they try to exercise their
consciences amidst profound emotional, ethical and international consequences.
If deported, they face the venom of mainstream American opinion and one to fi ve
years in prison. If Canada instead follows the legacy established by Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau during the Vietnam War, when Canada welcomed tens of thousands of
war resisters, there may well be an unprecedented crisis in U.S.-Canadian relations.
A twenty minute speakers' panel follows every screening:
