Another great film fest is on the horizon: the Amnesty International Film Fest runs from Thursday, November 12th to Sunday, November 15th at the cozy and plush Vancity Theatre on Seymour near Davie. Tix are $9 or $7 with $100 or $75 passes available (check the bottom of this email for recommended films just before and after the AIFF at the Vancity Theatre).
This festival by nature documents as much of the tragedy around us as it can; thanks to the profound insanity of our civilization, this means a 4 day festival of film will barely scratch the surface of our culture’s death-wish and destructiveness.
The good news is that there are some giant gems to unearth. I’ve been lucky enough to find a couple already: Taking Root and The Yes Men. I hope the reviews of these and some of the other films to screen next weekend help you find your way to the pot at the end of this changing climate’s rainbow. I simply don’t believe it is enough to just throw info out at us anymore and many of these films go way beyond, using gorgeous cinematography and even humour to expose the worse and inspire us to get off our duffs and overcome our childhood training….
Wow, I have a new role model: Wangari Maathai. Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (Friday@ 8:15pm) documents her life and work leading up to becoming the first African woman and first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
The film starts at the beginning, showing what life was like for this indigenous girl. It then allows us to see her grow, leave her people and culture, and then return with strategic skills gained elsewhere. It is so powerful to see an African woman stand true to her ancestors by wearing traditional dress and using her mother tongue in a world overwhelmed by civilization.
I truly see this film and her inspiration as a wake-up call for everyone here: environmentalist, social activist, common citizen. Wangari’s brilliance connected the environmental destruction that was killing her people to their colonial past and then when the colonial present tried to stop their remediation work through the Green Belt Movement, she helped empower regular folks to think and stand up for themselves. Her work and commitment literally brought down the Moi dictatorship: who is going to help bring down ours?
Wangari also explains how important our childhoods are and how they make us who we are. If we are connected to the land in childhood, that connection will stay with us for our entire life.
Other women are also portrayed beautifully: one states, “the little, little grassroots people – they can change this world,” while another exclaims, “now I have courage to say anything!”
If you only have time to see one film at this festival, see this one. Just be sure to make time to change your world afterwards….
The Yes Men Fix the World (Thursday Opening Gala: doors at 6pm: $45) made me scream out loud with laughter. Not only is it hilarious, it is real and really good. Two white guys try to fix the world by posing as the worst of the worst: corporate spokespeople and US government officials. They try to hoax their way through to the atrophied brains that allow the insanity around us to continue unchallenged: yours and mine. They’re not the first to get major headlines with their scams (the Guerrilla Girls quickly come to mind), but they certainly show how it can be done and make big points along the way. Laughing never felt so good! Check out their website for more…
The Night Runners (Coureurs de nuit: plays with The Yes Men) is very short and sweet…unless you’re a cop. The simplicity and beauty of the images may mesmerize you so here’s the final message in case you miss it: “because running is good for your health!”
Un poquito de tanta verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth: Sunday@ 7:30pm) is a fabulous film that takes the viewer on a ride through the APPO’s (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) birth and incredible life to 2007. It truly is a “how-to” film in the way it shows how the people united will never be defeated. Check out the riot police and tanks being resisted and pushed back. Marvel at how they took over a right-wing TV station that claimed to be the voice of the people and really made it so. If you had any doubt about the lies and corruption in Mexican government, this film will lay them to rest and inspire you to turn the lens on our own governments. This is a must see!
Jerusalem is Proud to Present (Sunday@ 1:30pm) could be a fun spy/espionage film if it weren’t a documentary about real people’s lives. Ironically, all the major religious leaders in Jerusalem come together to oppose the World Pride Celebration and March that was to occur in Jerusalem in 2006. In the lead up, religious fanatics issue death threats and spout intense hatred while organizers forge ahead. When yet another war is created by the Isreali government, it all changes – sort of. The subtitles are quick but the messages are strong: these people (the Pride organizers, not the lunatic religious right) are courageous, committed and truly inspiring.
Sing for Darfur (Saturday@ 8:30pm) takes a novel approach to highlighting a huge humanitarian issue in our world: it shows a few moments in the life of people living or visiting Barcelona that in some way are connected to a concert being held that day to raise awareness about Darfur. I really enjoyed the flow and especially enjoyed the irony of showing how insane our civilization is. But it ends well, coming full circle, so it is uplifting as well as honest about our world. Just don’t expect to learn anything about Darfur or to see pop stars belting it out for a good cause…
The Stolen Child (Sunday@ 11am) will break your heart, especially if you are a parent. It’s short, so it’s bearable, but it documents the Israeli government arresting thousands of children and imprisoning them for years, despite Geneva Conventions that prohibit such barbaric behaviour. Again, the Israelis are unmasked as they use state violence on a scale that dwarfs anything that the Palestinians may have done, like throw stones at armoured tanks on Palestinian territory. The rap by Ramallah Underground ends the film with an uplifting spirit…
Stolen Childhoods (Thursday@ 3pm) is far from uplifting. It does well to document the hundreds of millions of children who are exploited in almost as many ways. This would have been a great film if the basic premise (that children should never be exploited) was applied to all life forms. Sorry, but I just can’t buy into the statement that all humans have the right to go to school and get a job. That is what is fucking up the planet (our civilization went past the point of no return long ago), by learning obedience from our parents and teachers and then giving up our lives to make a few rich. No question the lives of so many children are horrendous and that must stop. But advocating a dead-end life within the system that creates this misery is a waste of time. If you don’t believe that children are being exploited to make your cigarettes among many other things, see this film and start changing your life at long last….
Enjoy the AIFFest!
PS. Until Tuesday, Nov 10th, Everlasting Moments is playing at 7pm at the Vancity Theatre and it comes highly recommended by a trusted friend, who writes “it’s a fascinating story — Sweden at the turn of the century — and incredibly beautifully filmed. It’s got some radical politics, incipient feminism, social transformation brought on by new technologies…and The Internationale!”
PPS. Right after the AIFF, Collapse starts its week-long run at the Vancity Theatre…another friend is trying to get the word out about it because it focuses on the social effects of oil depletion in a way that nothing else has come close to. Here’s the film’s website for more:
http://www.collapsemovie.com
