Film Nights Northeast Neighbors for Peace & Jusicte
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Film Nights Northeast Neighbors for Peace & Jusicte
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Northeast Neighbors for Peace and Justice Video/Potlucks
every Friday Gather about 8:00, movie starts about 8:30, bring food or
drink to share if you can. Flor y
Canto Centro in Highland
Park |
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April 8
The Real Thing: Coca,
Democracy and Rebellion in Bolivia (2004, 92 minutes)
The
American-led War on Drugs has had grave impacts on
the Bolivian farmers who produce the coca leaf, the main
ingredient in cocaine. The Real Thing: Coca, Democracy and
Rebellion in Bolivia reveals how the US government, instead of
cracking down on the users, distributors, and producers of
cocaine, has targeted the coca plant itself.Coca has been used for traditional and medicinal purposes since the Inca empire. Choosing to eradicate the coca plant, a strategy which consists of the military pulling each plant out of the ground by hand, is like deciding to prohibit corn because it is possible to make an alcoholic beverage from it, explains one campesino. The film's argument is that it is not a War on Drugs, but an extension of the neo-colonial American dream of bringing “modernity” to their southern neighbours. As Noam Chomsky puts it: “[These governments] are successfully carrying out their objectives, but their objectives have nothing to do with drugs.” The coca farmers, fed up with the U.S. influence over Bolivian politicians, have mobilized through the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). But because these communities have rejected the plant’s eradication and the imposition of alternative development programs, they have been labelled and treated as terrorists. They tell their story in The Real Thing, and give us a deeper understanding of the conflict and what is at stake. April 1 Tony Kienitz "The Year I
Ate My Yard"
We've got something different for April Fools Day - Come hear "Master Vegetablarian" Tony Kienitz speak and answer your questions about organic gardening. He has lived in Southern California for nearly 516 moons and has been gardening professionally for 120 of those lunar cycles. Tony's company, Vegetare, designs, sows and tends edible landscapes across the Southland, down in the valleys, along the rambling foothills, from the mountains to the sea. In his thoughtful and funny new book THE YEAR I ATE MY YARD he challenges our notions of what a vegetable garden should provide. Instead of growing freakishly giant, unblemished and insipid crops using factory-made fertilizers and nasty poisons, Kienitz offers practical advice and guidelines for creating gardens that cooperate with natural systems. He shows that by changing the way you look at a vegetable garden you will change the way the plants respond. Most importantly, Kienitz stresses that a vegetable garden, or for that matter, any garden, only needs love for it to thrive - and he provides thoughts on how we can bestow that love. Friday, March 11 Oil on Ice
(2004, 57 minutes)
This documentary is an
intimate portrayal of the native Gwich’in Indians taking on powerful
global energy interests to prevent invasive oil operations threatening
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s fragile caribou calving grounds
on which the Native people’s subsistence has always depended. The
Gwich’in call the preserve “the place where life begins.” The
film vividly brings home how our energy decisions—both
individually and as a society — critically impact the future of our
global economy, wildlife, and the environment as well as the survival
of an extraordinary traditional culture.
This screening is part of a
nationwide weekend of screenings being organized by the Sierra Club to
activate support for protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and
reducing America’s dangerous dependence on oil.
Friday, March 18 Stream Spirit Rising: Daylighting the North Branch (2005, 12 min.) with special guests One year ago Northeast Trees sponsored a series of art and
education events about the buried streams of the Arroyo Seco
watershed and their potential for restoration. Local filmmaker
David Gottlieb documented the series, providing a window into the
history of the neighborhoods, as well as outlining some
solutions. In Highland Park, the North Branch creek used to
connect springs, hills and meadows to the Arroyo Seco, providing a home
for fish, amphibians, birds, and small mammals, as well as places
for children to play. Today the stream is a storm drain. But a small stretch of the North Branch could be
brought back to life.
“In many ways these streams are a metaphor for the way we
have ‘buried’ our connection with nature”, says Jessica Hall of
Northeast Trees. “Daylighting these streams restores not only the
streams natural ecological processes, but in many urban neighborhoods
it can restore a sense of place and the natural importance of water
even in the most urban settings.” Jessica
will give us an update and answer questions about what the next
steps are.
In keeping with the creative flavor of Stream Spirit Rising
we will also have local poet Aire Celeste Norell as a guest, reading
environmental poetry. She calls herself
"a compassionate warrior for peace toward all living
things", and recently edited the anthology Cracked
Pavement & Plastic Trees: Our Gifts To Future Generations.
Friday,
March 4
This Is What Free
Trade Looks Like (2004, 64 minutes) with special guest
filmmaker
"This Is What Free Trade Looks Like: NAFTA fraud in méxico, the failure of the WTO, and the case for global revolt" takes a Global South perspective on Free Trade in order to contextualize the increasingly fierce resistance movements emerging around the world today. The most authoritative experience of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is no doubt the Mexican one, since México has already endured 10 years of the most advanced Free Trade Agreement in operation, NAFTA. The film examines México's experience with NAFTA as a basis for understanding the impacts of other free trade agreements such as the WTO and the FTAA. Interviews with experts and activists are interwoven with entertaining images of the protest events in Cancún, México at the 5th WTO ministerial in September 2003. From the Activist Media Project Los Angeles www.activistmediaproject.net February 4
Permaculture Night - 3 films and a
slide presentation to Inspire Urban Farmers
The
slide presentation is by the good folks at Path to Freedom, a local urban homestead. Their
objective is to live as harmoniously and sustainably as possible in the
midst of the city. They incorporate many back-to-basic practices,
permaculture methods, and appropriate technologies, including
biodiesel. They enjoy sharing their knowledge and helping others
develop along their journey.
Beyond
Organic: The Vision of Fairview Gardens (2000, 33 minutes)
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. Beyond Organic tells the story of this amazing farm and its long battle to survive in the face of rapid suburban development. Narrated by Meryl Streep. Global Gardener: Permaculture with Bill Mollison (1996, 28 minutes) Bill Mollison is a practical visionary. For nearly two decades he has traveled the globe spreading the word about permaculture, the method of sustainable agriculture that he devised. Permaculture weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management and human needs into intricately connected productive communities. Mollison has proved that even in the most difficult conditions permaculture empowers people to turn wastelands into food forests. We will watch a short segment of this 2 hour program, one that features urban solutions in New York City and Harare, Zimbabwe. City Farmers
(1998, 32 minutes)
The story of a
community garden in New York City. The gardeners themselves narrate the
film, giving a heartwarming and sometimes painful accounting of the
struggle to keep their gardens alive. They tell of life on both sides
of the garden fence: from their fight against drug dealers and gangs to
the successes of the gardens as food suppliers to families and Senior
Centers. As they tend their rows, some of these caretakers are reminded
of their childhood days on farms in the South, while others, who have
known only pavement under their feet, have found new directions for
their futures.
Next two weeks - schedule change - no film on
2/11 or 2/18
Resuming films on Feb. 25 with
The Future of Food (2004, 91
minutes)
There is a revolution happening in the farm
fields and on the dinner tables of America—a revolution that is
transforming the very nature of the food we eat. The Future of Food
offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the
unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly
filled grocery store shelves for the past decade. From the prairies of
Saskatchewan, Canada, to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives
a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively
impacted by this new technology.
Director Deborah Koons Garcia (widow of
Jerry) tells us genetically engineered crops have undermined
cultivation methods that have been refined over thousands of
years. Exploring a gamut of issues from so-called suicide
seeds to lax food-safety enforcement laws, and from the controversy
over patented genes to infected cornfields, the film is a comprehensive
and chilling call to arms against GMOs. It played a roles in the
passage of Measure H, which banned the use of GMO farming within
Mendocino County, California last March.
January 7, 2005 Another World is Possible (2002, 24 minutes) Exciting and visionary politics are about to be ignited at the 2005 World Social Forum, from January 26 to 31 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This will be the 5th incarnation of the important international event. In 2002, also in Porto Alegre, public officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations, indigenous nations, farmers, and labor gathered for the 2nd World Social Forum. It was covered extensively by the media in other parts of the world, but was virtually ignored by the US press. The film "Another World is Possible" presents a sampling of the issues and events at this enormous and creative gathering. Amongst the speakers featured are Naomi Klein, Vandana Shiva, Kevin Danaher, Wolfgang Sachs, and Rigoberta Menchu. This documentary impression of the gathering gives hope to US activists that, despite the media blackout, the movement for social justice is alive and well around the world. January 14 Captain Milkshake (1970, 100 min.) with possible special guest: director Richard Crawford Filmed in 1969, this is an anti-Vietnam War film about a marine-on-leave falling in love with an anti-war militant. Things get complicated with conservative relatives, irate hippies and an ill-fated Mexican drug run, all set to the trippy vintage sounds of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Country Joe & The Fish, The Steve Miller Band, and Kaleidoscope. Filmed in San Diego, the movie includes scenes of Crystal Pier, Balboa Park, Vacation Village, La Jolla Cove, and Pacific Beach, 35 years ago. The "authentic 60's flashback" was banned by the U.S. military at the time of it's release. Join us for a fun story of free love, cheap grass, psychedelic rock 'n roll and anti-war protests at Berkeley. Wear your love beads. January 21 In the Light of Reverence (2001, 73 minutes) A stunning portrait of land-use conflicts over Native American sacred sites on public and private land around the West. A project of Earth Island Institute revealing how across the USA, Native Americans are struggling to protect their sacred places. Religious freedom, so valued in America, is not guaranteed to those who practice land-based religion. Every year, more sacred sites - the land-based equivalent of the world's great cathedrals - are being destroyed. Strip mining and development cause much of the destruction. But rock climbers, tourists, and New Age religious practitioners are part of the problem, too. The biggest problem is ignorance.In the Light of Reverence tells the story of three indigenous communities and the land they struggle to protect: the Lakota of the Great Plains, the Hopi of the Four Corners area, and the Wintu of northern California. January 28 - no film
February 4
Permaculture Night -
3 films to Inspire Urban Farmers
Beyond Organic: The Vision of
Fairview Gardens (2000, 33 minutes)
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. Beyond Organic tells the story of
this amazing farm and its long battle to survive in the face of rapid
suburban development. It explores the efforts of Ableman and his staff
to diversify the farm, open it to educational tours for thousands of
people -- especially schoolchildren -- and defend it against angry
neighbors, hostile public officials and developers eager to re-zone the
land for condominiums. It draws a sharp contrast between community
supported agriculture and conventional chemical farming, and it calls
on organic farmers to remember basic principles, including fair labor
practices, as their farms grow in size and power. It is a dramatic
story with a happy ending. Other neighbors -- and eventually the entire
Santa Barbara community -- rallied around Fairview Gardens and raised
$800,000 to preserve it as a land trust, and as a source of
inspiration, for future generations. Narrated by Meryl Streep.
Global Gardener: Permaculture with Bill Mollison (1996, 28 minutes) Bill Mollison is a practical visionary. For nearly two decades he has traveled the globe spreading the word about permaculture, the method of sustainable agriculture that he devised. Permaculture weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management and human needs into intricately connected productive communities. Mollison has proved that even in the most difficult conditions permaculture empowers people to turn wastelands into food forests. We will watch a segment of this 2 hour program that features urban solutions in New York City and Harare, Zimbabwe. City
Farmers (1998, 32 minutes)
The
gardeners themselves narrate the film, giving a heartwarming and
sometimes painful accounting of the struggle to keep their gardens
alive. They tell of life on both sides of the garden fence: from their
fight against drug dealers and gangs to the successes of the gardens as
food suppliers to families and Senior Centers. As they tend their rows,
some of
these caretakers are reminded of their childhood days on farms in the South, while others, who have known only pavement under their feet, have found new directions for their futures. February 11
The Future of Food
(2004, 91 minutes)
There is a revolution happening
in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America—a revolution
that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. The Future of
Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind
the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly
filled grocery store shelves for the past decade. From the prairies of
Saskatchewan, Canada, to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives
a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively
impacted by this new technology.
Director Deborah Koons
Garcia (widow of Jerry) tells us genetically engineered crops have
undermined cultivation methods that have been refined over thousands of
years. Exploring a gamut of issues from so-called suicide
seeds to lax food-safety enforcement laws, and from the controversy
over patented genes to infected cornfields, the film is a comprehensive
and chilling call to arms against GMOs. It played a roles in the
passage of Measure H, which banned the use of GMO farming within
Mendocino County, California last March.
February 18
4 Little Girls
(1997, 102 minutes)
September 15, 1963 - a bomb tears through the basement of a black Baptist Church and takes the lives of four young girls. This racially motivated crime brings Birmingham, Alabama to the forefront of the civil rights movement. It was the incident that awakened liberal America to the true depth of the hatred and resistance to integration. Still, more than a decade passed before a notorious white supremacist, Robert "Dynamite Bob" Chambliss, was convicted of the crime. His alleged co-conspirators were never charged. Features archival film footage, home photographs and comments by surviving family members. Directed by Spike Lee, this was his first documentary. February 25 - no film
December 3rd Arlington West (2004, 56 min) with special guests filmmakers Sally Marr and Peter Dudar This moving documentary by two longtime Los Angeles activists is made up of sixty-four interviews with soldiers and Marines en route to and returning from the war in Iraq, plus interviews with military families. Their stories are shared against the powerful backdrop of the temporary cemetery in the sand known as Arlington West, which is erected every Sunday by the Veterans For Peace on the beach in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Oceanside and other locations.They place a flag draped coffin, and over 1000 wooden crosses on the beach, one for each US soldier killed in Iraq. Thousands of people have visited the memorials since their inception over a year ago. December 10th A night of critical analysis of the media and public opinion: Edward Said: On Orientalism (1998, 40 min) The late Edward Said's book Orientalism has been profoundly influential in a range of disciplines since its 1978 publication. Said argues that the western understanding of the Middle East as a place full of villians and terrorists ruled by Islamic fundamentalism produces a deeply distorted image of the diversity and complexity of Arab peoples. In this engaging and lavishly illustrated interview he talks about the context within which the book was conceived, its main themes, and how its original thesis relates to the current understanding of "the Orient" as represented in the mass media. and Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians and the Media Misrepresent the Public (2001, 32 min.) In this film Professor Justin Lewis provides an innovative lens through which to view the relationship between politics, media and the public. He demonstrates how public opinon polls are used by the media to not just reflect what Americans think, but to actually construct public opinion itself. Exploding the myth that most Americans are moderate or conservative, Constructing Public Opinion shows the way in which political elites help to promote the military/industrial complex and how the media sustains belief in an electoral system with a built-in bias against the interests of ordinary people. December 17th Unconstitutional (2004, 60 min.) "We created Unconstitutional to show Americans the extent to which our civil liberties and our freedoms have been trampled upon by our government since 9/11," said producer Robert Greenwald (Uncovered, Unprecedented, OutFoxed). "The more Americans understand what is at stake, and what has already been lost, the more determined we become to protect our rights." Unconstitutional explores how the Patriot Act has taken away checks on law enforcement and continues to endanger the civil liberties of all Americans. The Patriot Act, which was passed just 45 days after September 11 with virtually no debate, is being met with a significant grassroots groundswell from across the political spectrum. Resolutions opposing the Patriot Act have passed in approximately 340 communities in 41 states, including four statewide resolutions. These communities represent over 53 million people who believe that the Patriot Act goes too far. By focusing on the personal stories of real people, Unconstitutional aims to reveal how paranoia, fear and racial profiling have led to gross infringements on freedom and democracy without strengthening national security. December 24 and 31 -- No Films,
see you in 2005!
The "Take Back Democracy Film Festival" Five Fridays in
October at Flor y Canto
September
24th
No Film Night
September
17th Eighteen years ago, a
group of 500 people walked across the US on the
Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. "Just One Step"
documents this extraordinary journey. It is a film about commitment,
passion, counter-cultural and mainstream America. People from all walks
of life - many of whom had never marched for anything before - gathered
in a historic effort to affect the politics of a nation. The film
chronicles not only the logistical, emotional, and spiritual trials of
the marchers - living in tents, walking through all terrains and
weather - but also their interaction with thousands of Americans in
rural and urban communities along the way. Today the threat of nuclear
destruction still looms over us, but when this film was made few people
dreamed that Nelson Mandela would become president of South Africa,
that the Berlin Wall would come down, that the Soviet Union would break
up, or that America would invade Iraq. The Great Peace March is an
important and relevant lesson in what's possible.
September 10 This
will be a rare chance to learn about the ancient indigenous
prophecy, culture, and traditions carried out by spiritual runners from all over the Americas in the Peace & Dignity Intercontinental Runs. These spiritual runs generate prayers to heal the Nations, and to honor the Ancestors, Elders, Children, Leaders, Future Generation, and those who are in the Spirit World. Other goals are to inform the world of the desire for a peaceful co-existence with all peoples and to make people aware of the sacredness and delicate balance of nature. Past runners and organizers will be at Flor y Canto to discuss the run's purpose and their own experiences. A short video documentary will be shown. Donations encouraged to benefit the current run now in Mexico on route to Panama. http://www.peaceanddignityjourneys.com |
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August 27th & September 3rd
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August 20th
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August 13th
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August 6th Outfoxed (2004, 77 minutes) An in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know. "Outfoxed" examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person. Media experts, including Walter Cronkite, Jeff Cohen (FAIR) Bob McChesney (Free Press), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeff Chester (Center for Digital Democracy) and David Brock (Media Matters) provide context and guidance for the story of Fox News and its effect on society.
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| July 30th No film tonight (Critical Mass, see June 28) |
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July 23rd Juvies (2004, 66 minutes) with special guests
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July 16th Culturejam: Hijacking Commercial Culture (2001, 55 minutes)
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July 9th
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| July
2nd No film tonight Go out and celebrate what's left of our freedom! |
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June 25th
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June 18th, In honor of Gay Pride month
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June 11th
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June 4
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May
28 No Film Night! Gone to Critical Mass bike ride
http://www.cicle.org/cm/criticalmass.html
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May 21
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May 14 The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream (78 minutes, 2004)
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May 7
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April 30 2004 Bike Night! with "Return of the Scorcher" and "We ARE Traffic!" This Friday 4/30 at Flor y Canto is BIKE NIGHT! We celebrate bike power and alternative transportation choices with 2 films about bike culture and politics. Some LA Critical Mass riders will be joining us after their ride. Return of the Scorcher (30 minutes, 1992)
Film
by Ted White. This Ted White film chronicles the history and development of the "Critical Mass" bicycle movement, one of the most spirited and dynamic social/political movements of the apathetic 90's. In over 100 cities in 14 different countries, Critical Mass has now become a monthly ritual of reclaiming the streets by bicycle activists riding en masse. With traffic congestion, pollution, and road rage on the rise, growing numbers around the world are advocating for transportation alternatives, and Critical Mass is at the cutting edge of this mindset. We Are Traffic! tracks this leaderless, grassroots movement from its beginnings in San Francisco in 1992 to its spread across the globe. With a radical direct-action approach the participants of Critical Mass are celebrating the bicycle and in turn taking on perhaps the century's most sacred cow: the automobile. |
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April 16 2004
It is New Years Night 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect. To the Mayan communities in the Lacandon Jungle of Southeastern Mexico, NAFTA symbolizes the culmination of over 500 years of exploitation. During the night, 2,000 indigenous soldiers occupy several cities in the state of Chiapas and declare political and economic independence. They call themselves the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). Darryl Hannah, Edward James Olmos, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Rage Against the Machine team up with three young film makers to produce ZAPATISTA!, a film from the front lines of the civil war in Mexico. The product of over two years of filming and research, it combines first hand footage with extensive interviews and testimonies from campesinos, rebel leaders, activists and intellectuals working on both sides of the border. Zapatista locates the struggle in a global and historical context, revealing the ways in which Zapatismo grows out of 500 years of indigenous resistance and tracing the connections the Zapatistas have made to movements around the world. The film is a provocative, hip, graphic exposé of an inspiring human struggle. |
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April 9 2004 one year anniversary of Friday Film Night
6
continents and 24 countries provide spectacular Todd AO-70mm footage of
the balance between nature and man. Baraka is an ancient Sufi word,
which can be translated as "a blessing, or as the breath, or essence of
life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." For many people
Baraka is the definitive film in this style (Ron Fricke also did
Koyaanisqatsi) . Breathtaking shots from around the world show the
beauty and destruction of nature and man. Coupled with an incredible
soundtrack including music from Michael Stern, Dead Can Dance and Monks
of the Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery. |
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April 2 2004 Haiti: Killing the Dream (1992) This documentary, made for PBS in 1992, tells the grave political history of this troubled Caribbean island and offers a vital perspective on the first exile of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. It lays bare the first Bush administration's duplicity on Haiti. Deja vu. |
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March 26 2004 The Global Banquet: the Politics of Food (2003, 60 minutes) and Santiago's Story (1999, 16 minutes)
also showing Santiago's Story (1999, 16 minutes)
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March 19 2004
In honor of the one year anniversary of the start of the war on Iraq we will be showing: Winter Soldier (1971, 90 minutes) with special guest Fred Aranow Winter Solder captures the historic testimonies of more than 200 ex-GIs at the 1971 Detroit Winter Soldier Investigation concerning American atrocities in Vietnam. The film, made about and with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, was a prize winner at Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals. Not surprisingly, Winter Solder was largely ignored during the Vietnam War by American press and distributors. Made by fifteen independent filmmakers of the Winter film Collective, including Fred Aranow, who will join us for a discussion afterward. |
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March 5 2004 Holding the Line (2004, 16 min.) See the brand new video about the current UFCW strike! also showing: One Day Longer (1999, 46 min.) On September 21, 1991 five hundred and fifty hotel and restaurant workers walked off their jobs at the Frontier Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. For 6 years, 4 months and 10 days they maintained a 24-hour picket line, sometimes in 120 degree heat, and not one worker crossed the line to return to work. "One Day Longer" celebrates the solidarity and courage of the Frontier Strikers who have become a national example of the success that can be achieved when all unions come together and persevere. Las Vegas has subsequently been called the "hottest union town in America." The issues at stake were basic: the casino owner tried to take away their pension and healthcare. Featuring interviews from some of today's top labor leaders, including: John Sweeney, (AFL-CIO), Artie Rodriguez (United Farmworkers), Richard Trumka (AFL-CIO), John Wilhelm (HEREIU), Gerald McEntee (AFSCME), Rev. Jesse Jackson and the late Caesar Chavez (United Farmworkers). Music by Bruce Springsteen, Bill Withers, Sweet Honey and the Rock, Billy Bragg, and WILCO. Director Amie Williams describes the striker's dedication this way "The night we all marched in together is the opening scene of the film, and perhaps the most moving of anything I have ever filmed. It gave me hope as a filmmaker and a person, witnessing what a handful of people can do to affect monumental change in society." |
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February 27 2004 Following the success of our Bio diesel night, we are featuring two more videos on sustainable living: "Ecological Design: Inventing the Future" (1994, 64 min.) and Dennis Weaver's "EarthShip" (1998, 28 min.) "Ecological Design" is a film about integrating nature, technology, and humanity. It illuminates the emergence of ecological design, featuring the ideas and prototypes of pioneering designers who have trail-blazed the development of sustainable architecture, cities, energy systems, transport, and industry. Beginning in the 1920s with the work of Buckminster Fuller and moving through the end of the twentieth century, the film follows the evolution of ecological design from the visions of a few independent thinkers to the powerful movement it is becoming. As each designer leads us on a deep exploration of their design process, they reveal their methods, metaphors, inspirations, and commitment to a vision of a desirable future. Their prototypes range from microorganisms to megastructure. As the film interweaves ideas and artifacts, designers and history, it forms a tapestry of vision for the twenty-first century ? and an emerging field of ecological design unfolds. Features Paul Fuller, MacReady. Paolo Soleri, Pliny Fisk, James Wines, Ian McHarg, Hunter and Amory Lovins, John Todd, Michael Corbett and others. Topics include solar architecture, bio shelters, city farming, domed cities, electric cars, solar and soft energy systems and so much more. Produced by Chris Zelov and Phil Cousineau. "Earthship" tells the story of a specific example of ecological design. Actor Dennis Weaver and his wife Gerry have built a unique and beautiful home tucked into the hills near Ridgway, Colorado. Called an Earthship, this type of house uses recycled materials as a part of the structure and requires very little maintenance. The home, almost 10,000 square feet, includes a root cellar, workshop and three car garage. It was built from over 3000 tires, 100,000 aluminum cans and packed earth. It uses solar mass to conserve heat and solar power, enabling it to hold a constant temperature winter and summer.
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February 20
To celebrate his February 22nd lecture in Irvine (www.esSangha.org/) please join us for an homage to one of the great peace activists of the 20th century, Buddhist monk Thich Naht Hahn. Peace is Every Step presents him intimately and directly. It is the first work to document the full range of his life and work -- his efforts to help heal a world in conflict and provide tools for anyone wishing to lead a meaningful life. We join Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.; at retreats with environmentalists, veterans, families, and at public events worldwide. Also featured are the insights of leading activists and writers and rare archival footage of his peace work in Vietnam during the war, for which he was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King. Narrated by Oscar Winner Ben Kingsley, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Gaetano Kazuo Maida. |
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February 13
To honor the tragic side of love on Valentine's Day weekend, join us for Before Night Falls, Julian Schnabel's beautiful adaptation of the memoirs of gay Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. It's not so much a chronicle of his life as it is a diary of images: from his early years in the lush Cuban countryside and his sexual initiation, moving on to his carefree life in Havana finding lovers, basking in the sun, and writing, the combination of which leads to years of imprisonment. As Arenas dryly points out, "The Revolution wasn't for everybody. Arenas left Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel Boatlift and the darkest period is of his final years in New York, before his suicide in 1990. The acting is superb. The talented Spanish actor Javier Bardem embodies the passion of a man unable to be anyone else. Dual cameos by Johnny Depp as transvestite Bon Bon and a hypocritical military lieutenant prove once again how capable he is, and Sean Penn as a Cuban farmer who gives a young Arenas a lift is a plus. While not a political movie in the usual sense, the Revolution plays a major role in this film of the passionate life of an artist caught in a homophobic tragedy. |
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February 6
DAM/AGE traces writer Arundhati Roy's bold and controversial campaign against the Narmada dam project in India, which will displace up to a million people. She is the author of The God of Small Things, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1998. Her most recent book Power Politics challenges the idea that only experts can speak out on such urgent matters as nuclear war, the privatization of India's power supply by Enron and issues like the Narmada dam project. As the film traces the events that led up to her imprisonment, Roy meditates on her own personal negotiation with her fame, the responsibility it places on her as a writer, a political thinker and a citizen. It shows how Roy chose to use her fame to stand up to powerful interests supported by multinational corporations and the Indian government. For her, the story of the Narmada Valley is not just the story of modern India, but of what is happening in the world today, "Who counts, who doesn't, what matters, what doesn't, what counts as a cost, what doesn't, what counts as collateral damage, what doesn't." In a clear and accessible manner, the film weaves together a number of issues that lie at the heart of politics today: from the consequences of development and globalization to the urgent need for state accountability and the freedom of speech. |
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January 30
Five women, one van, 3,000 miles. This is the hilarious and informative story of five enterprising young women who drive their Chevy diesel van across the United States fueling their vehicle entirely with used vegetable oil procured from fast food restaurants during their trip. They prove there is a sustainable and renewable alternative to petroleum, that can be made locally, even in your own backyard, and run in an unmodified diesel engine. The humorous and the serious merge in this comprehensive introduction to the alternative fuel of bio-diesel. Comments from curious bystanders are interspersed with conversations with scientists in Colorado who are doing extensive research with vegetable oil as a replacement fuel. The women use some great theatrics to engage the public during the trip, alternately wearing bright orange waitress uniforms straight out of the 50's or garage coveralls, both with name patches sewn on, while conducting interviews or lugging out jugs of oil from the back of fast food joints. Scenes where they show how to transform used vegetable oil into bio-diesel are reminiscent of a Saturday night live skit of a Julia Child cooking show! The old auto industry film footage and hip soundtrack alone are reason enough to watch this positive and entertaining documentary. Can left-over grease from French Fries power the cars of the future? See for yourself. |
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January 23
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January 16
Arsenal of Hypocrisy, released by the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, features Bruce Gagnon, Noam Chomsky and Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell talking about the dangers of moving the arms race into space. Mitchell, the 6th man to walk on the moon, warns that a war in space would create massive bits of space junk that would create a mine field surrounding the Earth making it virtually impossible to launch anything into the heavens. Mitchell calls space a fragile environment that must be protected. Chomsky reminds the viewer that the U.S. refuses to negotiate a global ban on weapons in space. He also speaks about the role of the media in suppressing this important issue. Produced by filmmaker Randy Atkins, the film uses archival footage and Pentagon documents to clearly outline U.S. plans for the militarization of space.This includes the dangers of the Bush "Nuclear Systems Initiative" that will expand the use of nuclear power in space with Project Prometheus -- the nuclear rocket. |
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January 9 The Weather Underground (2003, 92 minutes) ''When you feel you have right on your side, you can do some pretty horrific things.'' So says Brian Flanagan in ''The Weather Underground,'' a documentary film featuring former members of the Weathermen, the revolutionary antiwar group that began in 1969The Weathermen, a splinter group of the Students for a Democratic Society, felt the peace movement wasn't going far enough. They were young, violent and glamorous militants determined to overthrow the United States government, believing it had criminally waged war in Vietnam and persecuted groups like the Black Panthers. As a former Weatherman, Ms. Jaffe, puts it: ''We felt that doing nothing in a period of repressive violence was itself a form of violence. That's really the part I think is hardest for people to understand.'' This solid piece of filmmaking lets the former Weathermen, now in their 50's and older, speak into the camera and reveal some of their personal histories as well as what the peace movement meant to them. Reflecting on the impact of their behavior -- the group took responsibility for bombing two dozen public buildings, including the Pentagon -- these former radicals now reconsider their approach. |
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January 2
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December 26
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December 19
Also showing the 13 minute short:
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December 12
Sharman Sinaga's granddaughter looks bored as her grandfather demonstrates for the camera his favored technique of market liberalization: holding union activists upside down in flooded fields. He mimics their gargles as they choke in the mud. He could hold down two or three at a time he boasts; he seems faintly nostalgic in the dim light and the smoke; his only regret, that his arms and knees aren't what they used to be. The orders to hold people upside-down came from the top, he tells us, from Surhato, with support from high on Washington's Capitol Hill. The Globalisation Tapes were made in collaboration with those a little further down the pile, closer to the mud, closer to the memories of the massacre that cleared the way for Indonesias modernisation. Using their own forbidden history as a case study, the Indonesian filmmakers trace the development of contemporary globalisation from its roots in colonialism to the present. Through chilling first-hand accounts, hilarious improvised interventions, collective debate and archival collage, The Globalisation Tapes exposes the devastating role of militarism and repression in building the "global economy", and explores the relationships between trade, third-world debt, and international institutions like the IMF and the World Trade Organization. The film is a densely lyrical and incisive account of how these institutions shape and enforce the corporate world order (and its systems of chaos). |
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December 5
Just released, this controversial and arresting film takes you behind the walls of government, as CIA, Pentagon and foreign service experts speak out, many for the first time, detailing the lies, misstatements and exaggerations that served as the reasons to fight a "preemptive" war that wasn't necessary. The war with Iraq brought about unparalleled resistance, both in the streets and in the chambers of government. This documentary offers an in-depth look at the unsettling distortion of intelligence and the "spin and hype" presented to the American people, the Congress and the press. Fighting wars to bring about regime change is in breach of international law. Yet, throughout the fall of 2002, and into the weeks preceding the war in Iraq, the Bush administration systematically distorted intelligence evidence and misled the public in order to turn opinion favor of "regime change" in Iraq." Executive Producer Robert Greenwald, also produced "Unprecedented," which documented the theft of the 2000 presidency.
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NOVEMBER 28
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NOVEMBER 21
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NOVEMBER 14
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NOVEMBER 7 Testament (1983)
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To get us in a Halloween mood, Friday, October 24th
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