Katie Galloway

Filmmakers Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega discuss their documentary “Better This World,” about two boyhood friends from Midland, Texas, who fall under the sway of a charismatic revolutionary. At the 2008 Republican Convention the "Texas Two" cross a line that radically changes their lives. The result: eight homemade bombs, multiple domestic terrorism charges and a high stakes entrapment defense hinging on the actions of a controversial FBI informant. The film is a close look at the War on Terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America. "Better This World" airs on September 6 on PBS.

As the adage says, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” But who decides on which terms to use and when? And is the US a mite too eager to define people as terrorists? These questions are posed by two new films, premiering this week at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival.