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2013 Film Descriptions
Watch the selected movie trailer by clicking on the film's title.
Reflections; Art for an Oil-Free Coast www.raincoast.org 22 min. 2012 Director: Cameron Dennison Reflections: Art for an Oil-Free Coast shares the story of an expedition of fifty artists into the truly stunning and remote landscape of British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest, a landscape they feel is threatened by Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and supertanker project. As these artists worked among pristine estuaries and alongside bears, they created an amazing collection of art to share with the world. Canadian icon Robert Bateman summarizes the crux of the matter stating, "The real problems facing this planet are not economic, and they are not technical. They are philosophical. So we need to get our philosophy right. What way do we want to go forward? We need a critical mass of people who care deeply in their hearts about nature. And that's partly what we're all about here." Hooked on Growth www.growthbusters.org 55 min. 2011 Director: Dave Gardner How do we become a sustainable civilization? This film takes a unique approach among environmental documentaries. Rather than dispensing facts about climate change, peak energy, and other critical issues, it examines the cultural barriers that prevent us from acting rationally. It asks why population conversations are so difficult to have, and why a roaring economy is more important to us than a survivable planet. It explores our obsession with community growth and economic growth. Hooked on Growth holds up a mirror encouraging us to examine the beliefs and behaviours we must leave behind, and the values we need to embrace, in order that our children can survive and thrive. Edible City www.ediblecitythemovie.com 72 min. 2012 Filmmakers:Andrew Hasse and Carl Grether Edible City is a film that tells the stories of extraordinary people who are digging their hands into the dirt, working to transform their communities and doing something truly revolutionary--growing local systems that are socially just, environmentally sound, and economically resilient. Can people disengage from the destruction taking place on planet earth and engage in something that helps to heal the earth and sets us free from the corporate systems that do us more harm than good? Local food production may be the answer to many of the challenges we face today. The film looks at examples of creative community based food security projects, including exciting work in many American inner city neighbourhoods as well as in Cuba. Bidder 70 www.bidder70film.com 73 min. 2012 Directors: Beth and George Gage Bidder 70 centers on an extraordinarily ingenious and effective act of civil disobedience demanding government and industry accountability. In the name of climate justice, University of Utah economics student Tim DeChristopher purchased oil and gas lease rights to thousands of acres of federal land in southern Utah, even though he had no intention of paying for it. Follow Tim (Bidder 70) from college student to incarcerated felon. DeChristopher says, “At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like...With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow...” Powerful, intelligent and very entertaining, Bidder 70 will show you how one person can change the world. This is a truly inspiring story. Best American Film, Traverse City Film Festival Symphony of the Soil www.symphonyofthe soil.com 104 min. 2012 Director: Deborah Koons Garcia Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance, soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time. Filmed on four continents, featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers, Symphony of the Soil is an intriguing presentation that highlights possibilities of healthy soil creating healthy plants creating healthy humans living on a healthy planet. Beautiful cinematography and musical score. My Neighbourhood www.justvision.org 30 min. 2012 Filmmakers: Rebekah Wingert-Jabi &Julia Bacha Mohammed El Kurd is a Palestinian boy growing up in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in the heart of East Jerusalem. When Mohammed turns 11, his family is forced to give up part of their home to Israeli settlers who are leading a campaign of court sanctioned evictions to guarantee Jewish control of the area. Shortly after their displacement, Mohammed’s family and other residents begin peacefully protesting against the evictions, determined not to lose their homes for good. To their surprise, they are quickly joined by scores of Israeli supporters who are horrified to see what is being done in their name. My Neighbourhood captures voices rarely heard, of those striving for a shared future in the city of Jerusalem . Peace Out www.indiecanent.com 80 min. 2011 Director: Charles Wilkinson In Canada's vast Peace River region the mega-projects include a major new dam, tens of thousands of hydro-fracked shale gas wells, a nuclear power plant, and the Tar Sands. Proponents of these projects argue that countless jobs are being created, resource revenues are pouring in, and schools and hospitals are staying open. Alternatively, there are credible charges that multinational corporations are despoiling an area the size of Florida, converting public assets into private fortunes and leaving a wake of Mordor-like destruction. Energy options are examined by a brilliant cast of specialists who are credible, reasonable, occasionally irreverent, but always extraordinarily well-informed on the subject. Peace Out is a deeply heartfelt account of what's really going on up North and how our choices down South are making it so. Special Jury Prize, HotDocs; Most Popular Canadian Documentary, 2011Vancouver Int'l Film Festival Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth www.heart-of-sky.com 98 min. 2012 Directors: Frauke Sandig & Eric Black The ancient Maya believed this present world would end and a new cycle arise after 5125 years. What lies behind the myth of the Mayan calendar? How does the story end? Does the water change color? Do the oceans collapse? Does the sky fall as the last tree is cut? Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth follows six young Maya in Guatemala and Chiapas through their daily and ceremonial life. They put forth a wholly indigenous perspective in their own words, without narration. Their cosmovision, in which all life is sacred and interconnected, presents a deeply compelling alternative to the prevailing worldview. As corporations go to the ends of the earth to extract all value, all resources, these Maya reveal their determination to resist the destruction of their culture and environment. They believe they are the guardians of the Earth. Each story touches upon a facet of the current global crisis. Best Int'l Feature, Planet in Focus Film Festival Planeat www.mcnabbconnolly.ca 72 min. 2012 Filmmakers: Shelley Lee Davies & Or Shlomi Why has the death rate from heart disease and cancer exploded in recent times? Why are the ice caps melting, the oceans dying and the forests being cut down as we produce the food necessary to support our burgeoning populations? Against a backdrop of colourful and delicious food grown by organic farmers and prepared in the kitchens of world-famous chefs, Planeat brings together the ground-breaking studies of three prominent scientists who have done important research to answer these questions. Dr. T. Colin Campbell in China explores the link between diet and disease; Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn uses nutrition to treat chronically ill heart disease patients; and Professor Gidon Eshel investigates how our food choices contribute to global warming, wasteful land use and lifeless oceans. Planeat inspires you to make better food choices: choices that can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, protect our environment and make our planet sustainable while celebrating the joys of food. Bitter Seeds www.teddybearfilms.com 87 min. 2012 Director: Micha X. Peled In the years since the World Trade Organization forced India to open its markets to genetically modified seeds such as Monsanto's BT Cotton, farmers have been forced into untenable debt in order to buy the more expensive seeds and the fertilizers and pesticides required to make them grow. Every 30 minutes a farmer in India kills himself in despair because he can no longer provide for his family. Will Ramkrishna be next? A cotton farmer at the epicenter of the suicide crisis region, he is struggling to keep his land. Manjusha, the neighbours’ daughter, is determined to overcome village traditions and become a journalist. Ramkrishna’s plight becomes her first assignment. A deeply affecting, character-driven film, Bitter Seeds masterfully weaves a rich tapestry of compelling human stories and subplots, that allows you to enter a world that is both personal and profound. Oxfam Global Justice Award & Winner Green Screen competition at IDFA; Jury Award, Green Festival Korea Shift Change; Putting Democracy to Work www.mcnabbconnolly.ca 70 min. 2012 Directors: Mark Dworkin & Melissa Young Shift Change tells the little known stories of employee-owned businesses that compete successfully in today's economy while providing secure, dignified jobs in democratic workplaces. With the economic crisis, millions have been thrown out of work, and many are losing their homes. Some citizens and public officials are ready to think outside of the box, to reinvent economies in order to restore long term community stability and a more egalitarian way of life. There is growing interest in firms that are owned and managed by their workers. Such firms tend to be more profitable and innovative, and more committed to the communities where they are based. This film takes us to the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation that, since the 1950s, has transformed a depressed area of Spain into one of the most productive in Europe with a high standard of living and an egalitarian way of life. In various parts of the US, the film takes us to green industry cooperatives, co-op bakeries, and Equal Exchange, one of the largest roasters of fair trade coffee in the world. The End of Immigration? www.diffusionmultimonde.com 52 min. 2012 Filmmakers: Marie Boti & Malcolm Guy In Canada, when we think of “temporary foreign workers”, the image that comes to mind are the seasonal agricultural workers who have been working in our fields for the past 40 years, or the live-in nannies and maids from the Philippines. But these days, temporary foreign workers are found in all sectors: fast food, service stations, city bus drivers. Canada appears to be taking its cue from places like Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia that run on temporary foreign workers. The documentary uncovers a trend which is having a profound impact on the society in which we live, where there will be citizens with full rights, and "rent-a-workers" with few or none. Is this the kind of society we want to build? Nothing Like Chocolate www.nothinglikechocolate.com 67 min. 2012 Director: Kum-Kum Bhavnani Narrator: Susan Sarandon Deep in the rain forests of Grenada, anarchist chocolate-maker Mott Green operates an unusual chocolate factory that turns out delicious creations. Nothing like Chocolate tells the moving story of the relentless and headstrong Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company, as he pursues his unique vision to create the best chocolate in the world from scratch. Solar power, employee shareholding and small-scale antique equipment turn out delicious chocolate in the hamlet of Hermitage, Grenada. Finding hope in an industry entrenched in enslaved child labor, irresponsible corporate greed and tasteless, synthetic products, Nothing like Chocolate tells a compelling story of a positive alternative based on fairness, community, sustainability and high quality. Estsini: My cousins 30 min. 2013 Director: Michael Bourquin Estsini is a Documentary profile on two Tahltan brothers learning their traditional language in the Canadian Indian Reservation of Iskut British Columbia. This particular film touches upon the loss of a language and a culture that dies with each elder. Michael Bourquin is the director, showcasing Reg and Ryan Dennis realizing the importance of preserving their language, their culture and their roots. This is a local film worth a listen, connecting us to a world in the north of British Columbia. |
November 2013
November 15, 16 & 17
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