(St. Mary’s City, Md.) Tuesday, August 29, 2017 — St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Center for the Study of Democracy presents “The Missiles of October: What the World Didn’t Know; The Cuban Missile Crisis +55” on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in Cole Cinema, Campus Center on the St. Mary’s College campus. The event is free of charge and open to the public.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sherry Jones will present the documentary and lead a discussion on the missile crisis and how its mishaps, miscalculations, and lessons resonate today, 55 years after that perilous October. In particular, the speakers will discuss how the crisis relates to the current escalation between the United States and the North Korean nuclear missile program. Director of National Security Archive at George Washington University Thomas Blanton and director of the archive’s Russia program Svetlana Savranskaya will join producer Jones for the discussion.
The documentary is told through minute-by-minute accounts of those who were involved from the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. With correspondent Peter Jennings, the documentary portrays the events as the crisis of the nuclear age while revealing that the world was much closer to the brink in October 1962 than anyone either knew or was willing to admit.
Jones is an award-winning producer and director with dozens of television documentaries to her credit. Her films have won eight Emmy awards, two Robert F. Kennedy awards, three Edward R. Murrow awards, and two consecutive Silver Baton awards from the American Bar Association. Jones is a fellow of the National Security Archive at George Washington University and has been honored as a “Woman of Vision” by Women in Film and Video.
The Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) explores contemporary and historical issues associated with the ideas of democracy, liberty, and justice in national and international contexts. It supports research that enhances our understanding of liberal democracy and its critics. The CSD facilitates activities that strengthen democracy and the rule of law; enhance security and individual freedoms; invigorate the civil society; encourage free enterprise; and increase economic, environmental, educational and cultural equity.