Viff ‘08: The Ark: Peace with Seals

This eccentric journey at times turns anthropomorphism on its head (watch out for those Newts!) while it’s primary purpose seems to be to show our “inhumanity” in dealing with other members of our planet.

However, it rarely is dogmatic nor does it hit you over the head (although there are scenes of seals being hit over the head).  Humans can justify just about anything – especially when our jobs depend on it – and many are documented here with great effect.  The asides into philosophical thought do well to balance and make clear these outrageous justifications.

I really appreciate the way that the film blends or blurs the lines between social and environmental thought and activism.  It creatively connects some of our treatment towards seals and other animals – human and non-human – to our incredible self-absorption while contrasting and comparing “us” to “them.”  And although much of the footage is archival, the fresh shots are impressive and the scenery is gorgeous.

The central theme is the director’s quest to see a real, live Mediterranean Monk Seal, of which there is only a few hundred believed still alive.  Even in this pursuit, the film’s humour shines through as it shows their methods and documents the fact that these seals will not survive in captivity.

Click here for more information, show times and tickets.

Viff ‘08: Nonfiction Features: Revue

This Russian film bears absolutely no resemblance to the previous Russian film reviewed a few days ago.

This one did not mesmerize, but it was fascinating and frequently funny.

It’s billed as a compilation of propaganda and it’s true. It also could be billed as another document of white colonization as it often refers to the empty country these new factories and cities are making useful at long last. I wonder how much of this also exists in Canadian?

My favourite scene is of a puppet troup doing Twist and Shout in Russian!

The singing is also great, despite the words…and the dancing! These folks know how to move! But it was far from all fun and games; the factory and farming scenes were insightful in terms of how mechanized that era (50s and 60s) was already.

Another great scene is of a young boy answering questions to support the regime and when asked if he liked to work (as in be productive for others), there was just silence until he was asked the next question…no amount of brainwashing or peer-pressure will ever change this universal truth!

Click here for more info or for tickets to the last screening…

An Interview with the director of Fierce Light

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Velcrow Ripper about his latest film, Fierce Light: Where Spirit Meets Action; the following is my recollection of our discussion.  Thankfully, it has been reviewed and edited by his producer to ensure that I didn’t misconstrue his responses…

DO: does this film have a relationship with your Viff ‘04 entry entitled, Scared Sacred?

VR: Fierce Light is part of a trilogy, of which Scared Sacred was the first and my next film, Evolve Dissolve: Another World is Here will be the last.  Scared Sacred’s premise is that with a crisis, there is an opportunity for transformation, while Evolve Dissolve’s  premise is that another world is not just possible, it is here already.   Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action is about the power of compassion in action, the power of creating change from a place of the heart, not just the head.  I call it spiritual activism, but I use the word “spirituality” as something distinct from “religion”. Religions often are dogmatic, whereas spirituality is quite flexible.

Scared Sacred looked at how survivors of cataclysmic political events (Hiroshima, Iraq, Afghanistan, World Trade Centre, more) survived, so we could learn from them.  My next film hopes to show us how we achieve an evolutionary bounce instead of ecological collapse.  I’ll be searching for examples of communities living a sustainable, evolutionary future, today, around the world.

This trilogy started as a website in 1995 and can still be found at scaredsacred.org under “ScaredSacred: Rhizome”.

DO: In the review I wrote of your film, I mention Derrick Jensen’s influence in my viewing of your latest film and stated that I thought you only considered non-violent approaches to change.  How do you respond to this?

VR: We have seen the examples of violent change in action, throughout history – has it worked?   Look at Iraq, look at Afghanistan, look at the bombing of the twin towers.  What have these violent acts accomplished?  Have they made the world a safer, more peaceful place?  If we use violent ends to achieve peace, sustainability and harmony, our means is not consistent with our ends.  Compassionate activism is about the process and the end being in sync, so that we’re not waiting for a distant future of co-operation, we’re practising it right now, in the way we create change.

Bolivia, the first indigenous-led modern nation state,  is an excellent example of a non-violent movement for change that implements Participatory Democracy to keep the people involved and influential, which is much different than just voting every few years.  It is about building power from the ground up, not imposing power through violent domination.

More importantly, violence comes from a place of anger and hate, rather than the sense of peace and love that embodies non-violence action.

DO: Aside from the Dalit people, your film isn’t able to offer any other examples of success with non-violence.  Is that because it needs the people who are involved to have nothing more to lose?

VR: The film has many examples of successful non-violent actions.   South Central Farmers continue to struggle and, in my opinion, have been hugely successful — because they refuse to give up.  The Civil Rights movement was also a huge success. The story of Gandhi.  The peaceful resistance of Thich Nhat Hahn’s order of Inter-being during the  Vietnam War.   The anti-apartheid struggle in Africa.   The Parihaka Peace Festival in New Zealand.

But I didn’t want to simply show a series of successes.  Fierce Light offers up an opportunity to break your heart open,  instead of allowing it to contract with the cynicism that is so rampant in our world.  It offers tools to strengthen us, and give us the courage we need to face a time of enormous crisis.

Fierce Light also gives us an sense of urgency to help us out of our apathy.

DO: I’m not, and I don’t think Derrick is, suggesting that we resort to violence until every other option is explored; and even then it may not be appropriate.  But to eliminate it from our options and only allow those with control now to use it has proved to be very destructive and even facilitated more violence from state governments.

VR: I’m very glad that you bring up Derrick’s writing because I agree that we need a spirit of enquiry and a diverse approach to everything, especially political change.  This film is meant to celebrate the difference that we see all around us and around the world, which makes us stronger when we learn from each other.

DO: I also wrote that you didn’t give voice to indigenous cultures’ approach to your premise of bringing Spirit into Political Action…

VR: Floyd Redcrow Westerman (Lakota) and Love Wolfhawk (Meso-American) are both sacred warriors from indigenous nations of North America. The entire South Central Farms story is driven by indigenous people, and the message the farmers impart is one of indigenous wisdom.

DO: What message would you want readers of this interview and viewers of your film to leave with?

VR: That we all can be part of the change – that it’s not up to someone else to do it for us. That everyone has a spiritual dimension, and everyone has an activist dimension – we all have a heart, and we all, on some level, can take part of the process of change making. When you bring these two elements of ourselves together, the depth of spiritual wisdom and the power of activism, a tremendous power is unleashed that can be part of the solution to both the crisis of the planet, and our own personal search for meaning.

Viff ‘08: Cinema of Our Time: The Song of Sparrows

Iranian films, especially those by Majid Majidi, are always a delight both emotionally and intellectually.

This film is set just outside of Tehran, but ventures into the big city often.  The lead, Reza Naji, plays a father and husband (Karim) that truly wants the best for his family and works hard to achieve it.  Not uncommonly, however, he doesn’t see how his own behaviour towards his family undermines the spirit of his desires and Majidi uses many non-verbal techniques to bring this home to the audience.

Although the director is a man, I found a strong feminist influence in how the story unfolds after Karim is hurt and seems to be an universal answer to what happens when the patriarch is moved out of the way.

The central theme, however, is greed and the subtly of Iranian theatre shines through again here.  Whether you are religious or not, the message is clear about our human inclinations, especially when exposed to strong influences like capitalism.

Come and have a great laugh and reinforce the beauty of our humanness…click here for more info and tickets.

Viff ‘08: Cinema of Our Time: Il Divo

Despite the content (murder, mafia, corruption, etc), this is a fun film.  I know I missed many nuances and humorous insights, but even so, it was very enjoyable to see the evil bastards make such fun of themselves.

That this film won the Jury Prize at Cannes this year is no surprise.  The unique way of chronicaling the corruption that ran rampant in Italy’s essentially one-party system for 44 years is not only engaging and in-depth, it’s completely convincing and at times I wondered if this was a documentary.  It far surpasses many of the mockumentaries I’ve seen about political crime in its intensity (does Italian law not allow for silence-inducing lawsuits as it does in Canada and the US?) and even its humour.

There are a couple of more chances to improve your Italian and your understanding of how government works in democracies…click here for more information and tickets.

Viff ‘08: Nonfiction Features: Chris and Don

This is a beautiful film in so many ways.

The completeness of the love that these two men created together was very inspiring and deeply touching.  Once it began, I realized that much of the reason for making this film could have been the parade of stars that these two socialized with (and became in their own right), but certainly the politics of the film had to be the inspiration and catalyst for completing it.

During a time when homosexuality was not only illegal but death-defying, Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy became partners and continued that partnership until Chris’ death to prostate cancer about 30 years later.  Add to this the fact that Chris was 30 years older than the 21 year old Don and well, you can see how incredible this story becomes.

Tears will flow in the theatre; for me, they were tears of joy for a love so rarely created in our civilization, and created in spite of it.  This could be an inspiring lesson for any of us: het, homo or otherwise.

Click here for more information and tickets for the last two screenings (Sept 29 @ 9:30pm & Oct 7 @ 10:45am)

Viff ‘08: Cinema of Our Time: The Hollow

If anyone else sees this film, please comment on what you understood from it.  I was mesmerized despite not understanding much of it.  Rereading the program guide explains that it is based on prose by a Russian poet, but the misogyny is surprising given that the director and writer is a woman (as is the producer).

Last year I saw another Russian film that similarly mesmerized me in its cinematography and paganism.  It, too, was set around a river (this one is set on the Volga).  I did learn that mud can clean human bodies (that’s why some soap is made from clay).  Thankfully, after the film, I was able to hear some wise women debrief and it seems that no one can leave this beautiful Hollow.  Perhaps that’s the force that lured me in and kept me watching this unique film.  For more information and tickets, click here.

Viff ‘08: Canadian Images: Fierce Light

When Spirit Meets Action (the subtitle of this film) is indeed the core of this contemplative activist video journey.  Velcrow Ripper (writer, director, cinematographer) pays homage to both his murdered friend Brad Wills and the millions of activists around the world by documenting many incredible moments.  He also brings in footage from other sources (Rodney King beaten by the L.A. police, Civil Rights marches, speeches and beatings) and interviews activist “superstars” (Alice Walker, bell hooks, Desmond Tutu, John Lewis, Julia Hill among many others) to create a very thorough look at past and present activism.

Where his work differs from most other activist films is in his central theme to try to understand where spirituality fits into his and others’ non-violent activism.  Buddhism, meditation, Christianity, and an environmentalist’s connection to the land are the sources of wisdom for the viewer’s contemplation.

Because non-violence is the only form of activism examined, the film is limited and clearly biased, as any media is (including what you’re reading now).  And although “radical” religious types were brought to front, I don’t remember any indigenous voices speaking about spirituality.  I was also filtering this film through my understanding of Derrick Jensen’s writings and time after time, I saw peaceful people losing their lives and their work to the violence directed at them by the corporate state.  I hope to speak with Velcrow about this so that I can write more soon.

If you have any activism flowing in your veins (and really, who doesn’t?), you’ll enjoy the incredible power of the people portrayed.  The images are often intense and inspiring, even if the victories are fleeting.  With 3 screenings (2 in the largest theatre downtown), there is ample opportunity to fuel your flame with this Fierce Light.  Click here for more info and tickets.

Viff ‘08: Cinema of Our Time: Revanche

You’ve only got one more chance to see this great Austrian film (Sunday, Sept 28 @ 9:15pm)…and it’s a winner in many ways.

First of all, it brings two brothel workers together with a cop and his capitalist wife and convincingly shows that even people in the most despicable of professions (careful who you choose now!) can redeem themselves with solid effort away from most of civilization.

These characters are so well developed that I could almost feel their emotions; I certainly could believe their very intelligent choices that often were not the obvious ones to make.  And most of this happened on the edge of my seat…

The setting, in a rural countryside where yuppies are beginning to infiltrate the pastoral farming culture, is central to the film.  I found the forest scenes interesting in their lack of diversity: yet another reminder that humans simply can’t recreate old-growth environments.

But the greatest strength of this film is the final message: taking responsibility for your own actions is deeply healing and freeing.

Make no mistake about this being a male-focused film – Götz Spielmann writes, directs, and produces wonderfully, while Johannes Krisch is stunning in the lead.  However, it was also fun to see one woman cunningly get what she wanted.

What you’ll get is a great movie experience that keeps you on your toes from start to finish and leaves you inspired knowing that virtually anything is possible.

Click here for the official movie site; click here for more info and tickets for its final screening at Viff ‘08.

Viff ‘08: The Ark: The Limits of What We Know

Ah Africa…so beautiful and so much culture and history.  Too bad white Europeans fucked it all up.

This film is a series of shorts with a common theme: what we now call Zimbabwe.  They also have a common presentation style that will be familiar to anyone that has been exposed to the areas of Africa colonized by the British.

This is a Canadian film though, so it’s unfortunate that the style of film-making is so colonially British.  Or maybe it’s an attempt to be authentic.  In any case, if you change the soundtrack, you’ve got a gorgeous tourist film.  But the soundtrack will offer many interesting pieces of information, despite the film’s title.

My favourite scene features an acrobatic dung beetle; lions, elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffalo, warthogs, zebras and more are also well featured.

But the film rarely features the voices of the uncolonized – the Shona and Ndebele.  It does tell a bit of their story, both past and present, but this is filtered through contempory colonized people, black and white.

One thing that struck me was that western clothes have truly devastated indigenous ways of dress.  My own experience in West Africa taught me that the ones we give to “charity” often end up in Africa, which, although expensive for most, are sold for so cheap it doesn’t make economic sense to make clothes in the traditional ways.  But this isn’t in the film, nor is any reference to the AIDS epidemic.

This is a nature film…sit back and relax and enjoy the view.  Click here for more info and tickets.