[van-announce] TRAVELLING WORLD COMMUNITY FILM FESTIVAL - MARCH 21-22

[pippikrakra at resist.ca]

TRAVELLING WORLD COMMUNITY FILM FESTIVAL - MARCH 21-22
CoDev's second annual Travelling World Community Film Festival will be
held on March 21 and 22, 2003 at Simon Fraser Harbour Centre. Last year's
festival proved to be wildly popular, attracting hundreds of people to the
evening and daytime screenings. This year's films cover a wide range of
issues from dams to genetically modified foods to HIV/AIDS to corporate
branding to terrorism. Through the films, we will hear from people in East
Timor, Mexico, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Kenya and Palestine who are
struggling for justice and to build a better world. Come and be inspired!
The full description and schedule of the films is included below.

Tickets
Get your tickets at:
- Ten Thousand Villages, 2150 W. 4th Ave.
- CoDevelopment Canada, 101-2747 E. Hastings
- People's Co-op Books, 1391 Commercial Drive
- Spartacus Books, 311 W. Hastings

Festival Pass
$24 for all events
$12 low income

Friday 7:30 pm
$10 Opening night
$6 low income

Saturday 12-7 pm
$16 all day - incl. eve.
$8 low income
$5 youth under 20

Travelling World Community Film Festival PROGRAM

Opening Night – Friday, 7-10pm

DAM/AGE: A Film with Arundhati Roy 49 min. 2002 Aradhana Seth Productions
Director: Aradhana Seth Booker Prizewinner Arundhati Roy’s bold and
controversial campaign against the Narmada Dam Project in India – which
led to her conviction for criminal contempt in India’s Supreme Court – is
chronicled in this politically pointed film. “I suddenly realized I
command the space to raise a dissenting voice,” explains Roy, “and if I
don’t do it, it’s as political as doing it. To stay quiet is as political
an act as speaking out.” The film traces the events that led to her
imprisonment. Since 1985, a popular movement of thousands of poor rural
people has grown: against the dam, against submergence, in favour of
people’s rights to the natural resources they depend upon to survive. See:
www.narmada.org

Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture 57 min. 2001 Right to Jam
Productions Filmmaker: Jill Sharpe As corporate brands and commercial
messages saturate popular culture like never before, Culture Jammers
strike back. Pranksters and subversive artists are causing a bit of brand
damage to corporate “mindshare.” Jammers, cultural commentators, and a
constitutional lawyer take us on a wild ride through San Francisco,
Toronto and New York’s Times Square. Join followers of Reverend Billy from
the Church of Stop Shopping at his revival meeting in the Disney store.
This film asks “Is it civil disobedience, vandalism, drive-by cultural
criticism, or the only form of self-defense left?” Enjoy the ride.

Saturday

12:00pm, Room 1900 An Evergreen Island 45 min. 2000 Frontyard Films
Filmmakers: Fabio Cavadini & Mandy King In 1989 the people of the Pacific
Island of Bougainville closed one of the world’s largest copper mines that
was destroying their land. In response, a blockade was imposed around the
island. This is a film about a people who survived for 9 years without
assistance from the outside world. They built their own schools and
colleges, and turned to their traditional bush medicines. Without
communications they charged batteries using solar power to run satellite
telephones and 2 way radios and they generated their own electricity by
harnessing water energy. They even used fermented coconut oil as a
substitute for diesel fuel. An inspiring story of courage, creativity and
survival.

12:00pm, Room 1700 Crimes of Compassion 47 min. 2001 Kinetic Director:
Jennifer Pickford The Vancouver Island Compassion Society was established
to provide affordable, medical-grade cannabis to local patients. But all
this changed when the police raided the Society’s shop and confiscated its
medicine. This dramatic story is fueled by the commitment and passion of
the Society’s operators, the anxiety and desperate need of its patients,
heated debate within the medical community, and exasperation of the police
who are asking for clarity as they attempt to enforce unenforceable laws.
This film includes a look inside a medical marijuana grow-operation, an
interview with former Health Minister Alan Rock, and also examines the
impact of the United States government on our current drug legislation.

12:00pm, Room 1400 Natural Connections 46 min. 1999 McNabb & Connelly
Directors: Sharon Howard & Mike Rosen Narrator: Peter Coyote Beautiful
photography, interviews with well-spoken scientists, top quality graphics
and original music are effectively used to underline the importance of
biodiversity, if we as a species want to survive and thrive on our home
planet. This riveting film takes a close-up look at salmon, rainforests,
and marine ecosystems to illustrate the importance of “keystone species”
in maintaining biodiversity. 5 Emmy Awards

12:00pm, Room 2270 Banana Split 47 min. 2002 Magic Lantern Communications
Directors: Kelly Saxberg & Ron Harpelle Canadians eat over 3 billion
bananas a year even though the nearest plantation is 5000 kilometers away,
but the fruit also provides a lifeline for poor communities in Asia,
Africa and Latin America. We travel to Honduras, the first of the “Banana
Republics” where the companies got rich at the expense of the local
people. This film introduces some of the reasons we should pause to think
about who is producing our food and what they are being paid to do so.
Entertaining and informative. See: www.globalexchange.org

12:55pm, Room 1900 The Tree That Remembers 50 min. 2002 National Film
Board Director: Masoud Raouf In 1992 a young Iranian student hanged
himself from a tree in a small Ontario town. Having escaped the
Ayatollah’s regime and found a new home in Canada, he could not escape his
past. Troubled by the suicide, Masoud Raouf assembles a group of
Iranians--all former political prisoners like himself, active in the
Iranian democratic movement. Blending their haunting stories with
historical footage and original artwork, he honours the memory of the dead
and celebrates the resilience of the living. Best Social Documentary,
Yorkton Film Festival; Silver Award for Best Canadian Documentary, 2002
Hot Docs

12:55pm, room 1700 Village of Widows 52 min. 1999 Kinetic Director: Peter
Blow On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Three
days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In the remote Great
Bear region of the Northwest Territories, many of the Sahtu Dene people
were not even aware that the Second World War was in progress, or that
they had been directly involved in the production of the two bombs. Most
of the Deline village elders who worked during the war years, transporting
uranium ore gunnysack bags, have since died from radiation- related
cancer. Village of Widows records the link that was formed between the
Sahtu Dene and the Japanese. Feeling unwittingly responsible and horrified
that something taken from their lands was used to wreak such violent
devastation on fellow humans, a group of Sahtu Dene made a pilgrimage to
Japan. Deeply moving.

12:55pm, room 2270 The Friendship Village 50min. 2002 Moving Images
Director: Michelle Mason The Friendship Village tells the story of George
Mizo’s journey from war hero to peace activist. Badly wounded at Que Son
in January 1968, Mizo discovered later that his entire platoon had been
wiped out in combat. He returned home filled with anger, which he poured
into protest against the war. As the years passed, his commitment to the
peace movement increased. The film focuses on his efforts to help found a
village for Vietnamese children and adults suffering from illnesses
related to Agent Orange. Among his colleagues on the project: Sr.
Lt-General Tran Van Quang, the same man who planned and led the Vietnamese
assault at Que Son. This is a remarkable story of reconciliation and
healing.

12:55pm, Room 2270 Say I Do 56 min. 2002 Red Storm Productions Director:
Arlene Ami Featuring impressively candid interviews, Arlene Ami’s gripping
documentary provides an insightful look at the mail-order bride industry.
Say I Do chronicles the stories of three brides from the Philippines and
two women seeking Canadian husbands. Faced with an uncertain future, these
women opt to gamble with their lives to escape poverty and support their
families. Ultimately, these relationships emerge from the inequalities of
global capitalism but are also based in a sincere desire for
companionship. Although some of the women find stability, they all share a
sense of isolation as they face the consequences of their risky decision.

1:55pm, Room 1900 Coca Mama 52 min. 2001 Journeyman Pictures Director: Jan
Thielen In Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia, the US “War on Drugs” is exposed
as a fraud. This documentary brings us the stories of coca-growing
peasants, anti-narcotic patrols, US lawmakers and Colombian FARC rebels.
In Colombia, fumigation planes poison food crops and people as well as
coca plants. Farmers cannot afford to send their children to school when
their crops are destroyed. Ironically, sometimes the only alternative left
for them is to switch to growing coca. Certificate for Creative
Excellence, US Film and Video Festival, Chicago

1:55pm, Room 1700 Palestine is Still The Issue 53 min. 2002 Bullfrog Films
Writer/ Presenter: John Pilger Director: Anthony Stark Award-winning
journalist and filmmaker, John Pilger returns to the West Bank of the
Jordan and Gaza, and to Israel, to ask why the Palestinians, whose right
of return was affirmed by the UN more than half a century ago, are still
caught in a terrible limbo—refugees in their own land. In a series of
extraordinary interviews, Pilger weaves together the issues of Palestine.
He speaks to the families of suicide bombers and their victims; he sees
the humiliation of Palestinians imposed on them at myriad checkpoints and
with a permit system not dissimilar to apartheid. This is a film about a
nation of people, traumatized, humiliated and yet resilient. (Some
disturbing scenes)

1:55pm, Room 1400 Coming to Say Goodbye 30 min. 2002 Maryknoll Productions
Directors: John Ankele & Anne Macksoud The stories of Rosalyn,
Christopher, Winfreda and others are a personalized journal of the spread
of HIV/Aids in Kenya and Tanzania. As one social worker comments, “AIDS
statistics are numbers with the tears washed off.” All of these stories
lead us to reflect on the personal and structural aspects of the AIDS
pandemic in Africa: poverty, lack of access to treatment, and the
extraordinary social cost to thousands of children orphaned by AIDS.
Social workers, medical professionals and others share their thoughts and
their hopes for a better future.

2:10pm, Room 2270 Rise: Revolutionary Women Re-envisioning Afghanistan 15
min. 2002 Witness Filmmakers: RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women
of Afghanistan) Members of RAWA used a regular camera and hidden cameras
to document the lives of Afghans following the American-led military
campaign. RAWA members interview refugees, victims of factional fighting
and Taliban abuse as well as residents who witnessed the bombings of
civilian homes. RAWA spokeswomen call for gender equality, democracy,
freedom, and an end to foreign military intervention.

2:30pm, room 1400 Books Not Bars 21 min. 2001 Witness Filmmaker: Mark
Landsman Books Not Bars documents the inspiring youth-led movement against
the massive prison industry in the US. The film reveals misperceptions
about the criminalization of youth, particularly youth of colour, and
highlights the relationship between increases in prison spending and
decreases in education spending. Inspiring examples of peer activism,
youth organizing and successful mobilizing around prison issues. Third
Prize, San Francisco Black Film Festival

2:30pm, Room 2270 Arms for the Poor 25 min. 2000 Maryknoll Productions
Directors: John Ankele & Anne Macksoud This video takes viewers to the
tumultuous world of international arms trade. Commercial interests
strongly impact the formation of foreign policy and the outcome of world
events. American weapons are exported to almost any nation in the world
regardless of the international implications of the sale and with little
consideration given to human rights records. International sales ratchet
up the arms race as more and more civilians are killed with American-made
weapons.

3:00pm, Room 1900 Blossoms of Fire, Mexico 74 min. 2000 Intrepidas
Productions Directors: Maureen Gosling & Ellen Osborne The legendary
Zapotec women of southern Oaxaca, Mexico have been described as “guardians
of men, distributors of food.” Artist Frida Kahlo celebrated their beauty
and intelligence. Blossoms of Fire shows them in all their brightly
coloured, opinionated glory as they run their own businesses, embroider
their signature fiery blossoms on clothing and comment with angry humour
on articles in the foreign press that inaccurately depict them as a
promiscuous matriarchy. A history of resisting aggressors has resulted in
fierce independence and progressive politics. Their acceptance of
alternative gender roles is an example of refusing to conform to a macho
cultural standard. Fiestas are celebrations which build community. Award
for Excellence, American Anthropological Association; Best of Festival,
Sunnyside of the Doc Film Market, Marseilles

3:00pm, Room 1700 Aftermath, the Remnants of War 74 min. 2001 National
Film Board Director: Daniel Sekulich War has a dirty secret; it never
really ends. Archival images and personal stories are woven into a
portrait of lingering devastation. Filmed on location in Russia, France,
Bosnia and Vietnam, the documentary features accounts of individuals
involved in the cleanup of war: de-miners who risk their lives on a daily
basis, psychologists working with distraught soldiers in Bosnia, a
treasure hunter turned archeologist in Stalingrad, and scientists and
doctors struggling with the contamination of dioxin used during the
Vietnam War. A powerful plea for peace. (Some scenes contain graphic
images)

3:05pm, Room 1400 Terrorism: An American Reality 15 min. 2001 Third World
Newsreel Filmmaker: Cynthia Lockhart Cynicism and outrage animate this
exploration of how American foreign policy has fueled resentment around
the world. Some surprising comments from people who inhabit the “third
world” within the first world.

3:05pm, Room 2270 Testimony, the Maria Guardado Story 62 min. 2001 A High
Valley Production Director: Randy Vasquez During the 1980s, the US
supported a series of loathsome regimes in El Salvador. Over 80,000
Salvadorians were “disappeared” and thousands more tortured. Maria
Guardado was one of the survivors who is still fighting back. Maria came
to Los Angeles in 1983 as a refugee bearing the scars of brutality. She
had fled El Salvador three years earlier after being kidnapped, tortured,
and left for dead by military authorities – some with American accents.
Guardado makes the links between the struggles against repression in
Central America and the grassroots efforts in the US on behalf of
immigrants, low-income wage earners, minorities and others. Best
Documentary, 2002 New York International Latino film Festival. (Some
disturbing scenes)

3:25pm, room 1400 Deconstructing Supper 48 min. 2002 Moving Images
Director: Marianne Kaplan A patron at Bishop’s, one of Vancouver’s top
restaurants, asks renowned Canadian chef John Bishop whether or not his
foods are “GM” (genetically modified.) Embarrassed, he admits that he
doesn’t know the answer. Although he uses mostly organically grown produce
in his recipes, he realizes that he knows absolutely nothing about
genetically modified foods. With a hearty appetite for both food and
information, chef Bishop explores the politics, economics and ethics of
eating. His journey around the world takes viewers on an eye-opening and
engaging adventure into the billion-dollar battle to control global food
production, unraveling fact from fiction. The results are startling,
unexpected and thought-provoking.

4:25pm, Room 1900 Lockdowns Up 9 min. 2001 Third World Newsreel Filmmaker:
Ashley Hunt A frightening look at the potentials for the privatized prison
industry following government policy shifts after September 11th. A taped
corporate conference call from one of the leading correctional facility
corporations details the impact that such policy shifts offer not only for
investors, but for those most prone to racial profiling.

4:25pm, Room 1700 A Score for Women’s Voices 86 min. 2001 National Film
Board Director: Sophie Bissonnette Between March and October 2000,
Millions of people took to the streets to denounce poverty and violence
against women. The historic World March of Women, a bold initiative of the
Quebec Federation of Women, was a turning point in global solidarity with
161 countries participating. Filmmakers from several countries present
innovative projects being developed by women on all five continents. In
Australia, we see the Women’s Circus started by survivors of sexual
assault. Brave Colombian women marched to FARC headquarters to demand to
be heard in the peace process. Their goal? To change the world!

4:25pm, Room 1400 Global Villagers, Development Alternative 27 min. 2002
Magic Lantern Communications Directors: Dawn Deme & Steven Deme “People
aren’t poor; they are impoverished.” This film shows how poor people
subsidize others and how modern agriculture undermines food security in
rural Bangladesh. We learn about the work of Inter Pares, a Canadian
non-governmental organization and its partner group in Bangladesh, UBINIG
(Policy Research for Development Alternatives.) The collaborative work of
these groups involves 90,000 farming families who reject chemical farming.
Their methods also use less fossil fuels. Women share traditional
knowledge of seed saving and are active in the “new” agricultural
movement.

4:25pm Another World is Possible 25 min. 2002 Bullfrog Films Directors:
Mark Dworkin & Melissa Young In early 2002, 51,000 representatives of
non-governmental organizations, indigenous nations, farmers, and labour –
including 11,000 young people from 131 countries—gathered for the World
Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Advocates of democracy, human
rights, and environmental protection around the world are featured
including Naomi Klein, Vandana Shiva, Kevin Danaher, Wolfgang Sachs, and
Rigoberta Menchu. Despite the North American media blackout, this film
shows that the movement for social justice is alive and well around the
world. Positive global alternatives.

4:35pm, Room 1900 To Free the Slaves 72 min. 2002 Kinetic Producer: Hilary
Jones-Farrow Over 27 million men, women and children live in slavery
around the world today. This film looks at ordinary men and women in four
different countries who are the new abolitionists. In Sudan and Mali,
Canadians are working to free slaves and reunite them with their families.
In Victoria, former sex-trade worker Cherry Kingsley helps young people
enslaved in prostitution re-integrate into society. And in the brickyards
of India, the Pandits free and rehabilitate slaves from bonded labour
while they re-educate the slave-owners. Responsible solutions are
explored. See: www.antislavery.org

5:00pm, room 1400 East Timor; Long Road to Freedom 55 min. 2002 Journeyman
Pictures Filmmakers: Sophie Berry & Lindal Berry From the first days under
the colonial powers of Portugal, through occupation by Indonesia, to their
last days under UN rule, we chart the agonizing battle for freedom in this
troubled nation. Falintil is an elite corps of guerilla fighters dedicated
to freeing East Timor. In the lead up to the referendum for independence,
the Indonesian army planned to use local militia to smoke the guerrillas
out of the mountains, but when Falintil discovered the plot, they confined
all soldiers to camp. Under tremendous pressure to fight, they proved that
“to win without fighting is the best strategy of all.” Using exclusive
footage of pivotal events, this is a compelling look at the last years of
East Timor’s 24 year long struggle for independence.

5:00pm, Room 2270 The New Rulers of the World 53 min. 2001 Bullfrog Films
Director: Alan Lowery Producer and Writer: John Pilger To examine the true
effects of globalization, Pilger turns the spotlight on Indonesia, a
country described by the World Bank as a model pupil until its globalized
economy collapsed in 1998. The film looks at the new rulers of the world
-- the great multinationals -- and exposes how governments and
institutions back them. The widening gap between the rich and poor has
never been greater; two thirds of the world's children live in poverty.
The Ford Motor Company is bigger than the economy of South Africa. Bill
Gates has more wealth than all of Africa. Important analysis of the
history of corporate rule.

6:00pm, room 1900 Cry For Argentina 57 min. 2002 Octoberfilms Director:
Angus McQueen Since unhitching its peso to the US dollar, Argentina has
suffered a spectacular economic collapse. When the government froze all
bank accounts, angry citizens took to the streets banging pots and pans to
protest and “picaterros” blockaded roads. At least 40% of Argentina’s once
predominantly middle-class population now lives in poverty. But new forms
of organizing are emerging. At least 20% of the population now regularly
use barter clubs. Goods and services from lab tests and x-rays to airline
flights are available with this new currency.

6:00pm, Room 1700 Fed-Up! Genetic Engineering, Industrial Agriculture, &
Sustainable Alternatives 58 min. 2002 Wholesome Goodness Productions
Director: Angelo Sacerdote Fed Up! features interviews with Vandana Shiva,
noted author, activist and scientist, Peter Rosset and Anuradha Mittal of
Food First, Marc Lappe and Britt Bailey of the Center for Ethics and
Toxics, and others. Using these interviews and hilarious and shocking
archival footage, Fed Up! paints a picture of a food system driven out of
control by the quest for corporate profits to the detriment of small
farmers and consumers everywhere. Find out about the origins of chemical
agriculture, the "Green Revolution", the negative impacts of industrial
farming practices on the environment and people's health as well as how
ordinary folks can take back control over the very foundation of life, the
food we eat. www.foodfirst.org

6:05pm, Room 1400 Thomas Berry, the Great Story 49 min. 2002 Bullfrog
Films Producers: Nancy Stetson & Penny Morell As a pioneer in the field of
spirituality and ecology, Thomas Berry has created a quiet revolution. He
is a monk, a cultural historian, an author, a teacher, and a mystic. The
film opens displaying the beauty of the natural world as Berry unfolds the
story of creation – the sacred story. He calls us “mad” for the way we are
despoiling our home, our planet, its beauty, and its living systems. At
the heart of the film is Berry’s experience of the universe as a cosmic
liturgy. He reminds us that “we are not a collection of objects but a
communion of subjects” and challenges us to change our ways.

6:05pm, Room 2270 Salt Peanuts 6 min. 2001 Third World Newsreel
Filmmakers: Alonzo Speight & Simin Farkondeh An ironic and engaging short
on how worries of an impending economic downturn following the events of
September 11th have caused corporations to cut their budgets. Blending
documentary with narrative, the true priorities of the airline industry
are exposed.

6:15pm, Room 2270 Beyond Organics, the Vision of Fairview Gardens 33 min.
2001 McNabb & Connelly Director: John de Graf Fairview Gardens is an urban
farm located in Goleta, California, right in the middle of some of the
most expensive real estate in the U.S. Managed for the past two decades by
visionary farmer/photographer/author, Michael Ableman, this 12-acre
organic farm has become a model of sustainable food production and
community involvement, as well as an inspiration for thousands of people
all over the world. Ableman traveled around the world learning from the
best examples of traditional agriculture. He became an outspoken critic of
large-scale commercial agriculture, with its reliance on vast inputs of
fossil fuels, water, pesticides and other chemicals. Beautifully
photographed.

7:05pm, Room 1900 A Tribe of His Own, The Journalism of P. Sainath 50 min.
2001 Moulins Media Director: Joe Moulins When government propaganda and
corporate spin are increasingly presented as fact, A Tribe of His Own
reminds us what the news media can be. With a groundbreaking series of
newspaper articles and a critically acclaimed book, Palagummi Sainath was
the first recipient of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Journalist of
the Year award in 2000. We follow Sainath to the Indian villages he writes
about, and explore his contention that “journalism is for people, not
shareholders.” Stephen Hume writes, “Mesmerizing
this film delivers
powerful insights into the enduring story of human suffering and its
shining corollary, imperishable hope.” Inspirational! Chris Award,2002
Columbus Film Festival

7:00pm, Room 1400 The Great Dance, a hunter’s story 75 min. 2000 Sense
Africa Directors: Craig Foster & Damon Foster This remarkable film follows
a group of !Xo San in the central Kalahari, focusing on the unique
relationship between their lifestyle, the land and the animals they hunt.
Through the eyes of the San hunters, we perceive a world invisible to
outsiders. There is an unbroken link with their ancestors who have lived
in the same region for over 30,000 years. The complex bond between man and
animal is spiritual. “When you track an animal, you must become the
animal. Tracking is like dancing, because your body is happy. When you are
doing these things you are talking with God.” (!Nqate Xqamxebe) Stunning
cinematography. Numerous awards include: Delegates’ Choice and Golden
Panda Award Wildscreen Festival; Best of Festival International Wildlife
Film Festival; Best of Festival,Telluride Mountain Film Festival; Audience
Choice Award, Toronto Environmental Film and Video Festival

7:05pm, room 1700 Life is Priceless 30 min. 2001 Produced/Directed by:
ernesto Cabellos and Stephanie Boyd On June 2, 2000 a mercury spill from a
US-owned mine in Peru's northern Andean mountains turned a once quiet
isolated village into a hotbed of civil resistance against multinational
mining industry. The towns' struggle opens a Pandora's box of questions
about the impact of mining in developing nations that will persist long
after the final credits.

7:00pm, Room 2270 The Face of Dignity 60 min 2002 grupo Alvaio Spanish
with english subtitles This film shows the internal organisation of the
Movimiento de Trabajadores Desocupados Solano (Solano Movement of
Unemployed Workers), one of the movements which form the Anibel Veron
Network in Argentina. They are an inspiring example of militancy and
self-organisation among Argentina's grassroots groups. These "piqueteros"
use teh government subsidies for unemployed collectively to create
self-managed productive enterprises, like bakeries, workshops and
community vegetable gardens which they run by assembly style direct
democracy.