It’s bigger and better this year at DOXA
18 May 2009
The 2009 DOXA Documentary Film Festival runs from May 22-31 at 2 main venues: Pacific Cinematheque (PC) and Vancity Theatre (VC). The opening and closing night films play at Empire Granville 7. There’s over 70 films to see, all of which have something real to say. Here are my picks for you to choose from:
The Sixties (plays 8:30pm on Wed, May 27 @ PC)
Run, do not walk, to these gems! In Black Panther, you’ll see Huey P. Newton and Eldridge Cleaver talk on film and hear Bobby Seale give the Panther’s 10 point plan, amidst great music and brilliant chanting by Panther women on the front lines.
The next Newsreel film, San Francisco State: On Strike gives us a glimpse of some of the struggles that these working-class students went through (scary shots of police brutality and guns drawn on unarmed black students packed in a hallway) to get the first Ethnic Studies department in the USA. Oddly, but importantly in terms of the police response, their campus was located in a white suburb.
In contrast to these activist-made films, the 2009 film, Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 uses slick production and tries to give us both sides of a story that has been covered up ever since it occurred. The Orangeburg Massacre was at least 9 police (of 150 heavily armed “law enforcement officers”) killing 3 and wounding at least 28 unarmed students on the night of 8 Feb 68 on South Carolina State’s all Black campus. No public investigation has ever been held.
Shots in the Dark (plays 2pm on Sat, May 23 @ PC)
It took 2.5 minutes before my heart sank and tears welled up. Not much later, the wailing began. This is a powerful, well-made film that touches you on many levels. As a parent, I know how hard it is to resist the medical establishment’s pressure to vaccinate your child. This film will expose their claims but does so in a way that simply can’t be argued with: there is no scientific evidence either way! The film shows real people that know that there is a problem. I believe these parents because I know firsthand that we just know what is going on with our children.
Thankfully, my child has not suffered from any serious illness (and no, she has NOT been vaccinated), but the one time she did have a major body reaction, I knew exactly what it was from. I didn’t need science to prove it. But just as in the film, her mom had a vested interest in denying my knowledge and tried to use (or not use, as the case may be) science to discredit me. That, in a nut shell, is what has been happening since 1929 with the pharmaceutical industry and vaccinations. The only study done for one vaccine was in 1929 on 9 people dying from meningitis; because they died from meningitis shortly afterwards, they continue to claim that the vaccine and it’s toxic preservatives (mercury) and activators (aluminum) are safe. Right.
This film speaks to parents, of course, but really it is relevant for everyone since it also includes the flu vaccine and others targeted at adults (Hep B). It literally exposes documented risk (that many doctors aren’t even aware of) and it can empower all of us to make health decisions that will promote and protect our own and our children’s health.
Here are the News (plays 3pm on Wed, May 27 @ PC)
Edith Josie is an amazing human being and this film does well to document many of the incredible achievements and talents of this woman.
You may know of her name from reading her syndicated column or hearing/seeing her on CBC. Chances of you meeting her in her home town of Old Crow in Gwitchin Territory are slim since it’s just about as far north as you can get on this continent.
What I found most interesting is how she has retained her culture, which she constantly shares with anyone. The colonizing forces have not spared her territory or people, but despite them (she is very religious, speaks fluent English and obviously wrote in English) she has remained so strong in her culture that many of her children and grandchildren thrive in it.
There are many lessons in this film, beyond the beauty of this woman.
My Mother’s Farm (plays 4pm on Sat, May 30 @ PC)
This is a raw work from a rightfully proud daughter. Her mother, Tale Kalna is a legend in Latvia for so many good reasons: single-handedly maintaining a farm for decades after being taken from her family’s land, agitating for change on so many levels (her work for better buses and slower cars spoke to me:), and being a political parent through it all.
The footage is a mix of her daughter’s and archival, so I got a much better sense of the politics of Latvia and the era of the Soviet Union in general.
For me, the most powerful message is that anyone can speak up and make change. Of course, civilization has stagnated beyond the era depicted so bureaucrats and politicians don’t listen or act as “easily” as they did in the film, but much of her work easily translates to a world without civilization; indeed, much of her work on the farm was accomplished without fossil fuels.
Tale Kalna lives on in many ways in her country and this film will bring her inspiration to many of us living beyond Latvia.
…and music (plays noon on Sun, May 24 @ PC)
This film will excite many parents: imagine a school curriculum based on music! Think French immersion with a serious twist; learning based on reality and hands-on experience. The players are wonderful to watch as they learn and teach this universal language, while graduates impress current students with the skills that they attained in everyday school life.
But this is still a school. The bell may be Mozart, but the ratio of students to teachers still is too high. Without a doubt, the edge of this institution is much softer, but even the excellent teaching on screen (respectfully asking for self and peer evaluation) didn’t quite convince me that school is the best place for a child.
But if school was mandatory, this is the school I’d choose for me or my child…ah, music!
A Dream for Kabul (plays noon on Sat, May 23 @ PC)
Despite the context (911), this is an intriguing film on many levels. The destruction of Afghanistan is contrasted with the WTC and WWII Tokyo very respectfully, dramatically and convincingly.
This is primarily the story of a father, whose son perished on September 11th, 2001. Through his grief and pilgrimage to recover as much of his son’s life as he could (he was living in Japan and went to NYC as soon as he could), he begins to refill his empty, aching heart by looking behind the tragedy of his son’s death to find his own future.
And it seem to be a future of hope and magic, as he travels to Kabul to learn from and connect with the children there. One scene of a young boy (Ihsanullah, pictured above right) telling the story of how shrapnel entered his body (and continues to leave, piece by piece) is filled with a clear understanding of how absolutely wrong this is. And if you don’t already know, the US has just start bombing again and the Canadian government is debating the deployment of a squadron CF-18 fighter bombers there (You can send a letter to all federal party leaders by clicking here).
The scenes of his interactions with children in the USA and Japan, as well as the Afghani kids, reach deep and seem to be a way for this traditional Japanese father to make amends for healing his relationship with his son. Indeed, he makes it clear that the children are what keep him, and his project, alive…
For more information about these and the other 65+ films, visit http://www.doxafestival.ca/
Enjoy all that you can!
The two fabulous leads
ONLY is an independent Canadian film shot in Ontario that will warm just about anyone’s heart.
A rare foray into the world of pre-teen minds, this film spends a day with two “only children” that fate brings together, if only for that day.
The beauty of this film is how the characters come to life at a believable pace, while being realistic about their larger lives. Both children have not been integrated into their parent’s lives and are treated as most are in our culture: superfluous, if not a chore and bother. But these leads show us that not only is that a path to disaster in many ways (and for everyone concerned), but that they are self-resilient and they are able to deviate from that path whenever a genuine moment arises.
The film melts by quickly and in so doing, calmly brings us back to that moment of first showing your love to another that is so innately awkward; the ending could go either way and I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw (I’m trying not to give anything away here!).
I asked one of the two co-directors, Simon Reynolds, some questions by email to get a bit deeper into the film (see below for the interview). Simon will also be available for a Q&A after every screening of ONLY at the Pacific Cinematheque (1131 Howe Street in Vancouver). Here’s the remaining schedule of this exclusive first-run:
Friday, May 15 – 9:30pm
Saturday, May 16 – 7:00pm
Sunday, May 17 – 9:00pm
An interview with Simon Reynolds, co-director of Only:
reellife: Why Only?
Simon: The word seems to be layered with several meanings. From the obvious (the lead characters are ‘only’ children) – to the cryptic (the word ‘lonely’ contains the word ‘only’) to the sublime (they ‘only’ have one day together). But early on in the screenwriting phase, Only was briefly the name of one of the lead characters. Over time, we began to see how the word seemed to resonate with the story and themes in different ways – and eventually it just became the name of the film.
reellife: Was the time of the year chosen for the snow or for other reasons?
Simon: We really wanted to capture that moment of Winter slowly thawing and giving in to Spring. That was our
aim. It’s like the kid’s relationship.
reelife: How would you explain the two leads’ personalities, and why do you think the film accurately portrayed them? To me, the portrayals were universal to our culture; what does this say about our culture for you?
Simon: One of my favourite things about these kids and this age in general – is that it seems to be a time before personality has really formed. Also before a lot of bullshit sets in. You know, you’re still trying different personalities out – almost like different sets of clothes – but you’re not attached yet. We did research with a group of about 6 kids of this age before we started writing. We asked them what they thought about the world and they told us. A lot of their answers are in the film – and it wasn’t what anybody was expecting to hear. As strange as their personalities sometimes seem, their is a ring of truth that no one can deny.
reellife: In our culture, children are often thought of as extras, are not considered important in our daily “productive” lives, and that they “get in the way.” Could you comment on this statement?
Simon: It’s certainly true. I think we have a lot to learn from children. Their capacity for imagination and curiosity – particularly their ability to see things as they actually are – to cut through to the simple truth. But instead of paying attention to their inherent wisdom, we ignore, control, repress and otherwise beat down their natural impulses and ultimately, everything that makes up their individuality. Of course, no one does this intentionally. We’re all born into the same situation and moulded by the same forces – it just gets passed on. Kind of grim.
reellife: Are you aware of the term, “emotional incest?” If so, did you consciously intend to include a reference to it or do you not think the film touches on it?
Simon: Not so much ‘emotional incest’ as simply emotional manipulation. At least that was our intention. I think all people at one time or another are guilty of it. We’ve all had moments when our self-pity got the better of us – and we tried to shame those around us into giving us attention.
reellife: Why was the scene of the girl’s father crying included?
Simon: Because that’s what grown ups do. We like the idea that, at the end of the day, we’re all still just kids slipping on the ice and falling down. It’s just that when you’re older, it’s so much harder to get up, dust off and move on. Kids roll with the punches better. That’s what we forget.
reellife: Why or how did it become co-directed? How did that benefit the film and how did it detract?
Simon: Ingrid [Veninger] and I have known each other since we were kids working as actors on Friday the 13th. We caught up with each other again about 6 years ago. Ingrid has produced a large body of work, but I had been writing on my own for years – in a bit of a vacuum. Ingrid liked my scripts and she produced my first short in 2004, then my second in 2006. I had been pitching her various feature scripts – then one day she called up and pitched this idea of ONLY to me. She had been percolating it on her own for months and I thought it was just great. She said “do you want to do it with me?” and that was that.
I can only see the benefits of our collaboration. When I think about how the film would have been different if we hadn’t collaborated from the beginning – I realize that we did something together that perhaps we could not have done on our own. Specifically, you need someone close to you at every turn whose judgement you can trust – who you can bounce something off of and know they are going to give you the straight goods. We did that for each other.
Now do this for yourself: see the film. Thanks for reading.
