IDFA 1999
Welcome to Armageddon
Paul Yule
England
1999
50 min
n.a.
For many sects the approach of a new millennium is the perfect opportunity to prophesy doom. WELCOME TO ARMAGEDDON sheds light on some of these religious communities and their ideas about the end of the world. In 1996, the members of Heaven’s Gate suited the action to the word and collectively committed suicide, on the assumption that their souls would travel along on a spaceship that was located behind comet Hale-Bopp. David Koresh, sect leader in Waco, Texas, involuntarily died in a fire that was controversially lit by the government. The leader of the Texan Yahweh movement is convinced that the Bomb will be dropped in the year 2002, killing eighty percent of the world population. Apart from leaders and members of these groups, the film also introduces their relatives, sceptics and apostates. One former sect member emphasises the importance of a critical mind: ‘Doubt is intelligence.‘
Credits
World Sales
Channel 4, International
Channel 4, International
Cinematography
Editing
Sound