Propeller Films, in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves, created a series of films using footage from the feature length film Watchers of the Sky. The series of films follows Raphael Lemkin, Benjamin Ferencz, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and the historical events that inspired them to take action. We have developed the activities and questions in this resource to accompany each film. Use this resource with your students to explore the ongoing struggle to apply the rule of law to punish and prevent crimes of mass violence.
Raphael Lemkin: An Introduction
After the Armenian Genocide, Raphael Lemkin asked, "why is the killing of a million a lesser crime than the killing of an individual?" This film and the accompanying activities explore Lemkin's effort to establish an international law to prevent mass violence against a group of people.
Raphael Lemkin: The Genocide Convention
How do you move from recognizing a problem to taking action? This film and the accompanying activities focus on Raphael Lemkin’s relentless effort to establish the term "genocide" as a legal convention in order to recognize and ban the crime in international human rights law.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo: The International Criminal Court
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), works to bring the rule of law to bear against perpetrators of mass violence today. This film and the accompanying activities explore the challenges that the ICC faces in applying the rule of law to ongoing atrocities.
Benjamin Ferencz: Watcher of the Sky
Benjamin Ferencz, a former prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials after World War II, has dedicated his life to using the law to prevent mass violence. This film and the accompanying activities ask students to reflect on what it means to be a "watcher of the sky" in these stories as well as in their own lives and communities.
