Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), Thursdays, 10pm and Saturdays, 7pm. Ph 9565 5522.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, has excellent coverage of industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts Mondays at 8pm. Ph 9633 6976 to contact the producers or make a donation.
Valkenberg — The population of Capetown's Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital is representative of South Africa's multicultural and multiracial composition, and is marked by extreme divisions of wealth and education. This documentary explores the connection between mental illness and society. SBS, Friday, September 4, 1.30pm.
Wole Soyinka — Nobel Prize for Literature winner Wole Soyinka is more than just a cultural commentator; he is a political activist and, despite great danger to himself, demands democracy for Nigeria. The exiled Soyinka was charged with treason by Nigeria's military government. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. In this rare interview, he talks to Andrea Stretton about his turbulent life in Nigeria, as well as art and politics. SBS, Saturday, September 5, 2.35pm.
Paul Robeson: Speak of Me as I am — This film, narrated by Denzel Washington, assesses and celebrates Paul Robeson's remarkable life. ABC-TV, Saturday, September 5, 9.30pm.
Australian Biography: Tom Uren — In this interview, the left-wing former Labor MP discusses his childhood in Balmain, the war years spent in POW camps in Asia, his failed dreams of becoming a champion boxer, the beginnings of his political career in the ALP, his years in parliament, his marriage, his family life and Australia's future. SBS, Sunday, September 6, 7.30pm.
Ruling Passions: Sex, Race and Empire — The molestation and murder of women from racially and nationally oppressed people went unpunished throughout the British Empire. Anxiety for the "safety" of white British women was used to justify draconian racial laws. ABC-TV, Tuesday, September 8, 12.40am.
The Young Green Tree — A film biography which explores the life and influence of notable Australian historian Professor Manning Clark as he struggled to write the monumental, six-volume A History of Australia. This film marks the 36th anniversary of the publication of the first volume. Clark's history still makes the right livid because it attempted to write a history from the standpoint of the common people. The film focuses on Clark's personal struggles and the Cold War fury that was the background to his work. ABC-TV, Tuesday, September 8, 8.30pm.
Movie: Cathy Come Home (1966) — Ken Loach's landmark drama-documentary about a happily married couple with three children whose lives go disastrously wrong when the husband has an accident and loses his job. SBS, Wednesday, September 9, 12.30pm.
Quantum: Skin Deep — In a freezer at Stanford University in California is stored what some say is the most precious collection of blood samples ever assembled. Others describe the collection as a crime against humanity. Through the eyes of researchers, activists and indigenous people, this film navigates the minefield of arguments for and against the Human Genome Diversity Project. ABC-TV, Thursday, September 10, 8pm.