Paris 1919

Negotiating Peace After WWI

For six months in 1919, Paris was the capital of the world. The last shots had just been fired in the most devastating war of all time - and the old global order lay in tatters. Delegations from over 30 nations urgently descended upon Paris for the most ambitious peace talks in history.

At the helm were the Big Four - President Woodrow Wilson along with leaders of France, the UK and Italy. They endeavored to engineer a peace treaty "for all time," creating instead an embittered Germany already dreaming of retaliation - and creating contentious new entities like Iraq and Yugoslavia. PARIS 1919 takes us inside this singular event with a vivid sense of character and narrative.

In a compelling story that blends re-enactments with archival images, director Paul Cowan captures the dramatic cut-and-thrust of diplomacy, while evoking the extraordinary atmosphere of a metropolis returning to life. Popular history at its most thoughtful, PARIS 1919 revisits a pivotal moment in the modern era - offering a disquieting reflection on one of history's great missed opportunities.

Winner of Best History and Biography Program at the Banff Television Festival and Best History Documentary Program at the Gemini Awards.