Who Bombed Judi Bari?

On May 24, 1990, in Oakland, CA, a bomb exploded in a car carrying Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. Both survived, only to be arrested and charged with transporting explosives. The charges were dropped, but Bari and Cherney sued the FBI and the Oakland Police Department for falsifying evidence in their attempt to discredit the pair's prominence within the environmental movement. Bari died from breast cancer in 1997, but before her passing she offered cogent testimony in a videotaped deposition as part of her civil lawsuit. Director Mary Liz Thomson's Who Bombed Judi Bari?, which was produced by Cherney, relies heavily on other video depositions from the lawsuit as well as TV news coverage of the 1990 bombing and Bari's activism prior to the attack. Bari and Cherney's style actually seemed like a throwback to the early 1960s brand of social protest: the duo used folk music to rouse attention and sought to build links between seemingly disparate segments of American society. Although Bari achieved posthumous vindication via her lawsuit, the mystery of who planted the bomb in the car was never resolved. Offering a stirring tribute to Bari's life and her indefatigable spirit, this multifaceted documentary is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)