In Our Hands

Documents June 12, 1982, a magic day in New York: the largest peace demonstration in history.

An uplifting documentary, it interweaves performers, individual marchers, aerial shots and down-to-earth scenes of the massive gathering when one million people with one voice called for an end to the nuclear arms race.

Capturing the magical spirit of that day with music, fun, tears, and a dazzling look at a cross-section of concerned humanity, "In Our Hands" is filled with high energy and warm feelings. Even the police were on the side of the demonstrators.

Photographed by 43 volunteer professional film crews, the film features well-known performers and activists.

The performers include: James Taylor, Carly Simon, Holly Near, Pete Seeger, Rita Marley, Peter, Paul and Mary, John Hall, Lucy Simon, Fred Moore, Judy Gorman Jacobs, Are & Be Ensemble, and House of the Lord Choir.

Actors and Actresses: Roy Scheider, Orson Welles, Ellen Burstyn, Kathryn Walker, Bob Balaban, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, John Shea, and Meryl Streep (English-language voice of the Japanese atom bomb survivors).

Also: Dr. Helen Caldicott, peace activist and author; Dr. Benjamin Spock, famed baby doctor and author; Rev. William Sloane Coffin, eminent anti-war minister; Randy Forsburg, nuclear freeze campaign founder; Winona LaDuke, Native American leader; Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA); Maj Britt Theorin, Swedish Parliamentarian; church leader Rev. Roy Nichols; labor leaders Jack Sheinkman and Cleveland Robinson...

Atomic Bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki...

And Ordinary People from all over the U.S. and around the world who march and speak out, demanding an end to the nuclear arms race.

Twenty-five years later, with reports of plans for new nuclear weapons, "In Our Hands" reminds us of how people responded then, and may serve as a role model for those who today dare to raise questions.

90 minutes