Gene Sharp hardly seems like one of the world's most dangerous men. White-haired and soft-spoken, the 83-year-old professor mostly keeps to himself, spending much of his time in his small Boston home reading, writing, and tending to his orchid garden. But to the world's most brutal dictators, Professor Sharp's ideas have proven catastrophic.
In this fascinating new film, first-time director Ruaridh Arrow details how an obscure list of nonviolent actions authored by Sharp in 1973 has served as a blueprint for anti-authoritarian revolts everywhere from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Giving as much attention to the substance of Sharp's "198 Methods of Nonviolent Action" as it does to the democratic rebels who have courageously made these methods their own, How to Start a Revolution bears witness not only to the power of nonviolent struggle, but to how one person of conscience can quietly influence the lives of millions of people.
Features commentary from Sharp's close ally Retired U.S. Army Colonel Robert Helvey, Sharp himself, and many of the revolutionary leaders his work has inspired.
"A world conquering British documentary"
"A powerful, moving, and beautifully produced film."
- Robert L. Holmes | Professor Emeritus | University of Rochester
"While Gandhi gave us the tactics and philosophy of nonviolence, Gene Sharp offers a systematic strategy of civil resistance. Liberation movements across the world are proving that this strategy is effective, even against tyrants. Thanks to Sharp, we can now realistically envision a world without war."
- Sharon Erickson Nepstad | Author of Nonviolent Revolutions | Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico
"At last, a film focused solely on Gene Sharp's formidable intellectual influence on historical and contemporary conflicts. A brilliant film celebrating a brilliant man. Bravo!"
- Erica Chenoweth | University of Denver | Co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflic
