“With democracy under attack and authoritarianism on the rise worldwide, The Broken Promise is an important and timely film that everyone
should watch. It was an honor to lend my voice to this powerful documentary.” — Rep. Jim McGovern, United States Congress
“Through moving testimonies spanning the globe and history, The Broken Promise shows us the warning signs that
societies are moving to genocidal policies. A beautiful and timely film.” — Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author, Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present
Licensing and streaming available for classrooms, campus and community
From the Armenian Genocide to Bosnia to Rwanda to China to Ukraine, the message is painfully clear: genocide is not a once-in-a-generation event humanity can witness, wring its collective hands over, and consign to the history books. It is a tool authoritarians wield all too easily — and consumerism is complicit in its use.
With insights from genocide survivors and their children, members of Congress, legal scholars, and human rights activists, The Broken Promise independent, feature-length documentary explores re-emergent patterns of genocide, and the political and institutional failures that enable perpetrators of crimes against humanity. The film shines a light on the warning signs of genocide, and how ordinary citizens can stand against these atrocities — and finally ensure that the promise of “never again,” a refrain after the horrors of the Holocaust, is fulfilled.
American Public Television will distribute The Broken Promise to PBS stations under a three-year, multi-play license in the United States, beginning in January 2024. KQED is the presenting station and premiered the film December 8, 2023.
Now available for streaming for PBS Passport members on PBS.org.
Meet the Cast
Interviews
Nahid Abunama-Elgadi, daughter of torture survivor
Amber Aguirre, daughter of holocaust survivor
Dr. M. Alfiee Breland-Noble, psychologist and researcher, AAKOMA Project
Todd Buchwald, Ambassador, Office of Criminal Justice, U.S. State Department
Mohamed I. Elgadi, torture survivor, Sudan
Helen Farkas, holocaust survivor
Ira Forman, Special Envoy Anti-Semitism, U.S. State Department
Naomi Kikoler, director, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
K. Alexa Koenig, executive director, Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Paul Mason, journalist, author, “How To Stop Fascism”
Elisa Massimino, executive director, Human Rights Institute, Georgetown University Law Center
Congressman Jim McGovern
Buffie Schmidt, instructor, Northern Pomo Language
Patricia Viseur Sellers, international criminal attorney
Congressman Tom Suozzi
Nury Turkel, attorney, author, “No Escape: The True Story of China's Genocide of the Uyghurs”
Mihrigul Turson, Uyghur genocide survivor
Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman
Meet the Crew
Directed by Kurt Norton, Gravitas Docufilms
Executive produced by Gayle Donsky
Written by Alex Calleros, Gayle Donsky and Kurt Norton
Edited by Alex Calleros and Daniel J. Clark
Director of Photography Frazer Bradshaw
Very Special Thanks
Morton Stein, production kibitzer
Diane Sampson, creative adviser
Additional Photography
Tony Day
Matthew Caulk
Jeff Schmale
Negin Khazaee
Randy Graham
Additional Crew
Dwayne Dell, sound recording
Daniel J. Clark, post production supervisor
Frazier Bradshaw, color grading
Daniel J. Clark, sound editor & re-recording mixer
Matt Radecki, Different By Design, post production consultant
Steve Henderson, camera department
Chris Perez, Donald Callif Perez, LLP, clearance counsel
Ahmad Neo, Digital Hand Art, illustrations
Design Camp, motion graphics
Morton Stein and Ready Pictures, production stills
Truman Van Dyke, production insurance
Elise Anderson and Zubayra Shamseden, translations
Karen Newton, Rapid Translation Services, transcriptions
Scott Bretner, transportation
Special Thanks
Beth Van Schaack
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Human Rights Center, Berkeley, California
United States House of Representatives
Georgetown University Law Center
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
AAKOMA Project
Uyghur Human Rights Project
Yad Veshem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Beth Jacob, Congregation Kitchener-Waterloo
Hugh Gurin
Ready Pictures
Theogene Rudasingwa
Haider Elias
Ramajana Hidic Demirovic
Elise Hagopian Taft family
Chivy Sok
Steven Norris
Andrew Hollinger
Jennifer Schmidt
Dr. Fabiana Franco
Eleanor Taylor
Kailei Jewell Ritcheson
Matt Bonaccorsi
Samantha Rucobo
Sydney Harvey
Mike Shanahan
Candice Nicole
Heidi Somers
Audree Norton
Pete Marino
Shane Zhang
Heidi Cuda
Tara Dao
Gerri Miller
Sandy Bulman
Alexi Berlind
Jeremy Russell
Ethel Sinofsky
Joanne Donsky
Stuart Oremland
Steve Gutow
Robin O'Heeron
Suzan Bernes
Nina Snegg
David Escobar
The Gotham Film & Media Institute
“To think of ‘never again’ as an unattainable goal is the wrong way to look at it.
The vow is to fight and to do what can be done.” — Ambassador Todd F. Buchwald
“What happened to the text in our textbook, ‘Never Again?’ What happened to that vow? What happened to that promise?”
Nury Turkel, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; author, “No Escape”
“Genocide is not a single act. Deliberate decisions are made over a gradual period of time. It's a process. It's a phenomenon.”
Naomi Kikoler, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
“You can't change the past. But you can help to shape the future. How do you prevent genocides from happening? What are the warning signs?”
Congressman Jim McGovern,
Massachusetts
Executive Producer Gayle Donsky and Mihrigul Turson, a former Uyghur detainee
Congressman Jim McGovern
Alexa Koenig, Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law
Naomi Kikoler, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide
Executive Producer Gayle Donsky, Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, and Director Kurt Norton
Morton Stein, Nahid Abunama-Elgadi, Mohamed I. Elgadi and Gayle Donsky
Mohamed I. Elgadi, Nahid Abunama-Elgadi and Dr. M. Alfiee Breland-Noble
Attorney Nury Turkel, Mihrigul Turson and Kurt Norton